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Payroll employment, earnings and hours, and job vacancies, September 2022

Released: 2022-11-24

Average weekly earnings — Canada

$1,175.37

September 2022

3.5% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — N.L.

$1,159.31

September 2022

3.3% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — P.E.I.

$985.73

September 2022

2.4% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — N.S.

$1,020.83

September 2022

3.6% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — N.B.

$1,082.99

September 2022

6.3% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Que.

$1,118.25

September 2022

3.7% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Ont.

$1,206.70

September 2022

3.6% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Man.

$1,066.67

September 2022

3.5% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Sask.

$1,155.70

September 2022

3.5% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Alta.

$1,266.05

September 2022

2.6% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — B.C.

$1,175.98

September 2022

3.2% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Y.T.

$1,334.02

September 2022

1.1% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — N.W.T.

$1,560.30

September 2022

0.4% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Nvt.

$1,593.33

September 2022

7.8% increase

(12-month change)

The number of employees receiving pay or benefits from their employer—referred to as "payroll employees" in the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours—rose by 85,300 (+0.5%) in September. Gains were largest in Quebec (+39,100; +1.0%), Ontario (+15,300; +0.2%), British Columbia (+10,500; +0.4%) and Alberta (+10,400; +0.5%). Newfoundland and Labrador (-900; -0.4%) was the sole province to see a drop in payroll employment.

Payroll employment increases in both the goods-producing and services-producing sectors

In September, payroll employment increased by 61,400 (+0.4%) in the services-producing sector, accounting for 72% of the overall monthly increase. Overall, 9 of the 15 sectors in the services-producing sector recorded gains, led by health care and social assistance (+20,700; +0.9%), followed by accommodation and food services (+8,400; +0.7%) and retail trade (+8,200; +0.4%). Management of companies and enterprises (-600; -0.5%) was the lone sector to record a decline in payroll employment.

Meanwhile, payroll employment in the goods-producing sector increased by 21,700 (+0.7%). Construction (+18,500; +1.7%) and mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction (+800; +0.4%) saw increases, while there was little change in forestry and logging, manufacturing, and utilities.

Chart 1  Chart 1: Payroll employment increases in September after little change in August
Payroll employment increases in September after little change in August

Payroll employment increases in health care and social assistance

Payroll employment in the health care and social assistance sector increased by 20,700 (+0.9%) in September, following a decline of 1,900 (-0.1%) in August. In total, seven provinces recorded gains in payroll employment, led by Quebec (+11,200; +2.1%), Ontario (+5,300; +0.7%) and Alberta (+1,700; +0.7%). Manitoba (-400; -0.4%) and Newfoundland and Labrador (-100; -0.2%) recorded losses, while British Columbia showed little change.

On a year-over-year basis, payroll employment within the health care and social assistance sector increased by 74,600 (+3.5%) in September. Nationally, child day-care services (+17,600; +11.7%) and general medical and surgical hospitals (+9,800; +1.7%) recorded the largest year-over-year increases within the sector in September.

Payroll employment continues to increase in accommodation and food services in September

Payroll employment in the accommodation and food services sector increased by 8,400 (+0.7%) in September. This brought the total gains since February 2022, following the initial wave of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, to 173,100 (+15.6%). In September, gains were observed in Ontario (+3,500; +0.7%), Quebec (+2,600; +1.0%), Manitoba (+1,200; +2.7%) and Prince Edward Island (+200; +2.7%), while the remaining provinces recorded little change. Despite the monthly gains observed in September, payroll employment in the accommodation and food sector was 4.5% (-60,700) below its pre-pandemic level.

In September, nationally, two-thirds of the industries within the accommodation and food services sector recorded monthly payroll employment growth, led by full-service restaurants and limited-service eating places (+5,100; +0.5%), recreational vehicle parks and recreational camps (+1,900; +10.8%), and traveller accommodation (+1,600; +1.0%).

Payroll employment increases in construction

Payroll employment in construction rose by 18,500 (+1.7%) in September, almost fully offsetting the loss observed in August (-19,500; -1.7%). Overall, eight provinces observed monthly increases, led by Ontario (+6,700; +1.7%), Quebec (+4,800; +2.1%) and British Columbia (+2,700; +1.5%).

Gains were spread across nearly all industries within the sector, led by foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors (+3,900; +3.0%), building equipment contractors (+3,100; +1.0%) and residential building construction (+2,800; +1.7%).

In September, all industries within the sector recorded year-over-year payroll employment increases, with building equipment contractors (+14,400; +5.0%), residential building construction (+13,000; +8.5%) and non-residential building construction (+8,900; +8.1%) leading the gains. In September, all provinces recorded year-over-year payroll employment increases in the sector.

Year-over-year growth in average weekly earnings holds steady in September

Year-over-year growth in average weekly earnings was 3.5% to $1,175 in September, on par with August. In September, four provinces recorded year-over-year growth rates that were larger than the national average, led by New Brunswick (+6.3% to $1,083) and Quebec (+3.7% to $1,118). However, slower growth rates in Prince Edward Island (+2.4% to $986), Alberta (+2.6% to $1,266), British Columbia (+3.2% to $1,176) and Newfoundland and Labrador (+3.3% to $1,159) moderated national earnings growth.

Over the same period, national year-over-year growth in the Consumer Price Index was 6.9% in September. Growth in average weekly earnings can reflect a number of factors, including changes in wages, composition of employment and hours worked.

In September, the year-over-year increase in average weekly earnings in the goods-producing sector (+4.7%) outpaced the overall national average. The largest gains were recorded in forestry and logging (+9.7% to $1,412) and construction (+5.7% to $1,457).

Slower year-over-year growth was observed in the services-producing sector (+3.4%). While the largest gain was recorded in finance and insurance (+15.8% to $1,724), there were losses seen in management of companies and enterprises (-5.9% to $1,494) and educational services (-3.2% to $1,145).

Average weekly hours worked drop year-over-year in September

While there was little monthly change in September, average weekly hours worked were down 0.6% (to 33.3 hours) on a year-over-year basis. Management of companies and enterprises (-7.0% to 34.8 hours) recorded the largest year-over-year decrease, which was mitigated by an increase in forestry and logging (+6.7% to 42.9 hours). Like growth in average weekly earnings, changes in average weekly hours worked can reflect a number of factors, including changes in the composition of employment.

Job vacancies increase in September

Across all sectors, the number of job vacancies was up 3.8% (+36,300) to 994,800 in September. Increases in accommodation and food services (+12.0%; +16,400) and construction (+14.0%; +11,500) were partially offset by declines in manufacturing (-11.3%; -9,700). The total number of job vacancies was little changed on a year-over-year basis.

The month-over-month increase in job vacancies in September was largely attributable to seasonal variations, as job vacancies typically peak in September. When adjusting for seasonal variations, the number of job vacancies levelled off in September, following three consecutive monthly decreases.

Chart 2  Chart 2: Seasonal variations drive job vacancies increase in September
Seasonal variations drive job vacancies increase in September

The job vacancy rate, which corresponds to the number of vacant positions as a proportion of total labour demand (the sum of filled and vacant positions), was 5.7% in September, up from 5.4% in August, but down from 5.9% in September 2021.

Seasonal effects drive the increase in job vacancies in accommodation and food services and construction

In accommodation and food services, employers were actively seeking to fill 152,400 vacant positions in September, up 12.0% (+16,400) from the previous month. The increase was predominately due to seasonal variations. On a year-over-year basis, the number of job vacancies was down 19.6% (-37,100) in September. The job vacancy rate in this sector (10.4%) remained the highest among all sectors in September.

Job vacancies also rose 14.0% (+11,500) to 93,900 in construction in September. As in accommodation and food services, the increase largely reflected seasonal effects. Compared with September 2021, job vacancies in construction were up 14.9% (+12,200). The job vacancy rate was 7.4% in September 2022, up from 6.8% in September 2021.

Job vacancies remain high in health care and social assistance

Employers in health care and social assistance were seeking to fill 159,500 vacant positions in September, little changed from the record high reached in August (152,000). Compared with September 2021, job vacancies were up 25.8% (+32,800), the largest year-over-year increase in job vacancies of any sector. The job vacancy rate was 6.6% in the sector, little changed from the record-high rate reached in August (6.4%), but up 1.1 percentage points from September 2021. In the second quarter of 2022, 27.2% of vacancies in the health care and social assistance sector was in hospitals, while 26.8% was in nursing and residential care facilities and 24.5% was in ambulatory health care services. Just over one in five vacancies in the sector (21.5%) were in the social assistance subsector.

Job vacancies little changed in retail trade and professional, scientific and technical services

In September, the number of job vacancies in retail trade (117,300) and professional, scientific and technical services (61,900) was little changed but remained elevated. In September, the job vacancy rate in the retail trade sector was 5.5% and that in the professional, scientific and technical services sector was 5.0%.

Job vacancies decline in manufacturing

The number of job vacancies in the manufacturing sector decreased to 76,000 in September, down 11.3% from August and down 17.6% from its peak of 92,100 in April 2022. This drop occurred following the fourth decline in five months in the sector's real gross domestic product recorded in August. From August to September, the job vacancy rate declined by 0.5 percentage points to 4.6%.

Increase in job vacancies concentrated in Ontario and Saskatchewan

In September, on a month-over-month basis, job vacancies increased in Ontario (+7.4% to 375,700) and Saskatchewan (+12.2% to 26,700), while they decreased or were little changed in the other provinces.

In September, there was an average of 1.0 unemployed people for each job vacancy in Canada, down from 1.3 in August. This decline reflects both a decrease in unemployment (-289,300) in September (Labour Force Survey, not seasonally adjusted) and an increase in the number of vacancies (+36,300) during the month.

The unemployment-to-job vacancy ratios varied across Canada. In both Quebec and British Columbia, the two provinces with the highest job vacancy rate, the ratio declined to 0.7 in September, after having reached 1.0 in August. Newfoundland and Labrador remained the province with the highest unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio (3.1) in September.




Sustainable Development Goals

On January 1, 2016, the world officially began implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development—the United Nations' transformative plan of action that addresses urgent global challenges over the next 15 years. The plan is based on 17 specific sustainable development goals.

The Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours is an example of how Statistics Canada supports the reporting on the Global Goals for Sustainable Development. This release will be used in helping to measure the following goals:

  Note to readers

Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours

The key objective of the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (SEPH) is to provide a monthly portrait of the level of earnings, employment and hours worked, by detailed industry, at the national, provincial and territorial levels.

Payroll employment, as measured by the SEPH, refers to the number of employees receiving pay or benefits (employment income) during a given month. The survey excludes the self-employed, owners and partners of unincorporated businesses and professional practices, and employees in the agricultural sector.

SEPH estimates are produced by integrating information from three sources: a census of approximately 1 million payroll deduction records provided by the Canada Revenue Agency; the Business Payrolls Survey, which collects data from a sample of 15,000 establishments; and administrative records of federal, provincial and territorial public administration employment, provided by these levels of government.

Estimates of average weekly earnings and hours worked are based on a sample and are therefore subject to sampling variability. This analysis focuses on differences between estimates that are statistically significant at the 68% confidence level. Payroll employment estimates are based on a census of administrative records and are not subject to sampling variability.

With each release of SEPH data, data for the preceding month are revised. Users are encouraged to use the most up-to-date data available for each month.

Statistics Canada also produces employment estimates from its Labour Force Survey (LFS). The LFS is a monthly household survey, the main objective of which is to divide the working-age population into three mutually exclusive groups: the employed (including the self-employed), the unemployed and those not in the labour force. This survey is the official source for the unemployment rate, and it collects data on the sociodemographic characteristics of all those in the labour market.

As a result of conceptual and methodological differences, estimates of changes from the SEPH and the LFS differ occasionally. However, the trends in the data are similar. To better understand the conceptual differences between employment measures from the LFS and the SEPH, refer to Section 8 of the Guide to the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (Catalogue number72-203-G).

Unless otherwise stated, this release presents seasonally adjusted data, which facilitate month-to-month comparisons because the effects of seasonal variations are removed. For more information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questions.

Non-farm payroll employment data are for all hourly and salaried employees and for the "other employees" category, which includes piece-rate and commission-only employees.

Unless otherwise specified, average weekly hours data are for hourly and salaried employees only and exclude businesses that could not be classified to a North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code.

All earnings data include overtime and exclude businesses that could not be classified to a NAICS code. Earnings data are based on gross taxable payroll before source deductions. Average weekly earnings are derived by dividing total weekly earnings by the number of payroll employees.

Job Vacancy and Wage Survey

Beginning with the release of October 2020 data, preliminary monthly estimates from the Job Vacancy and Wage Survey (JVWS) are published on a monthly basis. These estimates provide more timely information on the number of job vacancies and the job vacancy rate by province and by industrial sector.

JVWS collection is done on a quarterly basis. The quarterly sample of business locations is allocated to the three collection months of the quarter, approximately balanced by province and by industrial sector across each of the three months. This allows both quarterly and monthly estimates to be produced.

The JVWS also provides comprehensive quarterly data on job vacancies by industrial sector and detailed occupation for Canada and the provinces, territories and economic regions; offered hourly wages; and job vacancy characteristics. Quarterly data for the second and third quarters of 2020 are unavailable because survey operations were temporarily suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic. More information about the concepts and use of data from the JVWS is available in the Guide to the Job Vacancy and Wage Survey (Catalogue number75-514-G).

Preliminary monthly estimates are produced for job vacancies, job vacancy rates and payroll employment using available responses from business locations sampled in the corresponding reference month. The reference period for the JVWS is the first day of the respective month.

These preliminary monthly estimates are revised and finalized when the corresponding quarterly estimates are released or shortly thereafter. Users are encouraged to use the most up-to-date data available for each month.

Unless otherwise stated, JVWS estimates are not seasonally adjusted. Therefore, month-to-month and quarter-to-quarter comparisons should be interpreted with caution as they may reflect seasonal movements. New experimental data adjusted for seasonality are derived from ongoing work to develop seasonally adjusted JVWS time series. Further information on this ongoing work is available on request.

While JVWS employment is calibrated to the SEPH, SEPH payroll employment and JVWS preliminary monthly employment figures may differ because of calibration grouping and differences in scope and reference period.

Labour Force Survey data used in this Daily release to calculate the unemployment-to-job vacancy ratios are non-seasonally adjusted (unless otherwise indicated).

Real-time data tables

Real-time data tables 14-10-0357-01, 14-10-0358-01, 14-10-0331-01 and 14-10-0332-01 will be updated on December 12, 2022.

Next release

October data for the SEPH and the JVWS will be released on December 22, 2022. Third quarter of 2022 (August to September) JVWS results, which will also provide insights into job vacancies by subsector, vacancies by occupation and offered wages, will be released on December 19, 2022.

Products

More information about the concepts and use of the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours is available in the Guide to the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (Catalogue number72-203-G).

The product "Earnings and payroll employment in brief: Interactive app" (Catalogue number14200001) is now available. This interactive data visualization application provides a comprehensive picture of the Canadian labour market using the most recent data from the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours. The estimates are seasonally adjusted and available by province and largest industrial sector. Historical estimates that go back 10 years are also included. The interactive application allows users to explore and personalize the information presented quickly and easily. Combine multiple provinces and industrial sectors to create your own labour market domains of interest.

Contact information

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).

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