Payroll employment, earnings and hours, and job vacancies, June 2023
Released: 2023-08-31
$1,203.64
June 2023
3.6% 
(12-month change)
$1,205.89
June 2023
5.4%
(12-month change)
$1,004.76
June 2023
4.2%
(12-month change)
$1,064.90
June 2023
3.9%
(12-month change)
$1,091.30
June 2023
1.8%
(12-month change)
$1,153.32
June 2023
4.3%
(12-month change)
$1,226.21
June 2023
4.2%
(12-month change)
$1,094.77
June 2023
3.8%
(12-month change)
$1,168.96
June 2023
2.6%
(12-month change)
$1,283.89
June 2023
2.1%
(12-month change)
$1,203.72
June 2023
3.1%
(12-month change)
$1,366.45
June 2023
1.9%
(12-month change)
$1,613.39
June 2023
5.1%
(12-month change)
$1,665.72
June 2023
8.5%
(12-month change)
The number of employees receiving pay and benefits from their employer—measured as "payroll employees" in the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours—increased by 47,700 (+0.3%) in June. Meanwhile, job vacancies remained on a downward trend, edging down by 8,900 (-1.2%) to 753,400 in June.
The largest monthly increase in payroll employment was recorded in health care and social assistance (+25,100; +1.1%), followed by construction (+4,000; +0.3%), manufacturing (+3,500; +0.2%), utilities (+1,300; +1.0%) and professional, scientific and technical services (+1,200; +0.1%).
These gains were partially mitigated by fewer payroll employees in administrative and support, waste management and remediation services (-6,800; -0.8%), information and cultural industries (-2,900; -0.8%), retail trade (-2,000; -0.1%) and other services (except public administration) (-800; -0.1%). The remaining 11 sectors recorded little change in June.
Growth in overall payroll employment has remained moderate in recent months. Cumulative growth in overall payroll employment was 168,300 (+0.9%) from February to June, compared with 279,700 (+1.6%) from September 2022 to January 2023.
Chart 1
Payroll employment increases in June
Payroll employment growth in health care and social assistance ramps up in June
Payroll employment in health care and social assistance rose by 25,100 (+1.1%) in June, the fourth consecutive monthly increase, bringing the cumulative gain to 43,800 (+1.9%) since March. The payroll employment increase in June was the largest monthly gain in the sector since April 2021.
In June 2023, hospitals (+10,100; +1.5%) accounted for the largest share (40.5%) of the monthly increase in payroll employment for the sector, followed by nursing and residential care facilities (+6,000; +1.2%), ambulatory health care services (+5,600; +0.8%) and social assistance (+3,300; +0.8%).
Specialty trade contractors drive payroll employment growth in construction sector
Payroll employment in construction increased by 4,000 (+0.3%) in June. The gain was concentrated in specialty trade contractors (+4,800; +0.7%), including building equipment contractors (+2,800; +0.9%). This industry recorded its fifth consecutive monthly payroll employment gain in June.
Meanwhile, payroll employment in residential building construction (-300; -0.2%) slightly declined in June, while it was little changed in non-residential building construction. On a year-over-year basis in June, payroll employment was up in both residential building construction (+3,700; +2.2%) and non-residential building construction (+3,400; +2.8%).
Seafood product preparation and packaging drives payroll employment increase in manufacturing sector
In June, payroll employment in the manufacturing sector increased by 3,500 (+0.2%). The gain was concentrated in Newfoundland and Labrador (+4,100; +64.9%).
Nationally, the payroll employment increase in manufacturing reflected gains in food manufacturing (+4,400; +1.8%), specifically in the seafood product preparation and packaging industry (+4,300; +27.6%). Beverage and tobacco product (+900; +1.6%) and machinery (+500; +0.4%) manufacturing also contributed to the monthly increase in the sector. These increases were partially offset by fewer payroll employees working in wood product (-1000; -1.0%) and furniture and related product (-600; -0.9%) manufacturing.
Year over year, payroll employment in the manufacturing sector was up by 15,600 (+1.0%) in June. Payroll employment in transportation equipment manufacturing has been on an upward trend since March, with cumulative gains of 6,700 (+3.4%) since then. On a year-over-year basis, payroll employment in this subsector (+5.0%) grew at five times the rate of overall payroll employment in the manufacturing sector.
Average weekly earnings are little changed on a monthly basis in June
On a month-over-month basis, average weekly earnings in June ($1,204) were little changed from the level observed in May ($1,200). In comparison, average weekly earnings increased 0.4% from April to May. In June, average weekly earnings were up in arts, entertainment and recreation (+6.0% to $738), manufacturing (+1.9% to $1,337) and accommodation and food services (+1.7% to $488).
On a year-over-year basis, average weekly earnings were up 3.6% in June. In general, growth in average weekly earnings can reflect a range of factors, including changes in wages, composition of employment and hours worked.
In June, average weekly hours worked were down 0.6% (to 33.2 hours) year over year and were unchanged compared with the previous month.
Job vacancies edge down in June
Job vacancies remained on a downward trend in June, edging down (-1.2%) to 753,400 from 762,300 in May. This brings the net decrease in the number of vacancies to 108,500 (-12.6%) since January and to 249,900 (-24.9%) since the record high of just over 1 million (1,003,200) vacancies reached in May 2022. Job vacancies in June 2023 were at their lowest level since May 2021 (673,400).
The largest monthly declines in vacancies in June 2023 were observed in finance and insurance (-8,800; -30.2%), accommodation and food services (-7,600; -7.5%) and construction (-6,900; -10.0%). These decreases were mitigated by more vacancies in health care and social assistance (+12,400; +9.2%), which rebounded following a fall in May.
On a year-over-year basis in June, unfilled positions were down in five of the six largest contributors to job vacancies, namely accommodation and food services (-58,400; -38.7%), professional, scientific and technical services (-26,600; -37.2%), manufacturing (-25,700; -30.5%), retail trade (-23,000; -21.4%) and construction (-20,200; -24.5%). However, unfilled positions remained virtually unchanged from one year earlier in health care and social assistance.
Excluding the health care and social assistance sector, there were 606,300 job vacancies in June, compared with 627,600 in May and 837,300 in June 2022.
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 4.2% in June 2023, virtually unchanged compared with May (4.3%) but down from 4.8% in January. The job vacancy rate has trended down since peaking at 5.7% in March, April and May 2022.
While job vacancies edged down in June 2023, the number of unemployed persons (measured in the Labour Force Survey) increased by 54,100 in the month. As a result, there were 1.5 unemployed persons for every job vacancy, up from a ratio of 1.4 in April and May and from 1.3 in February and March, indicating that the labour market tightness has eased. Nevertheless, the unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio in June remained below its pre-COVID-19 pandemic level, which was typically above 2.0.
Infographic 1
Job vacancies remain on a downward trend in June, pushing the unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio up
Job vacancies decrease in accommodation and food services for the second consecutive month
Job vacancies in accommodation and food services fell by 7,600 (-7.5%) to 92,500 in June, following a decrease of 11,700 (-10.5%) in May. On a year-over-year basis, the number of unfilled positions in the sector decreased by 58,400 (-38.7%) in June, while payroll employment increased by 68,300 (+5.5%). The job vacancy rate in the sector (6.6%) remained the highest across all sectors in June but was down from 10.8% in June 2022.
Fewer job vacancies in construction, finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing
The number of job vacancies in construction fell by 6,900 (-10.0%) to 62,300 in June, partially offsetting the increase in May (+9,200; + 15.3%). The job vacancy rate in the sector was 5.1% in June, down from 5.7% in May and from 6.8% in June 2022. The year-over-year decrease in June 2023 in the job vacancy rate in construction reflected lower job vacancies (-20,200; -24.5%) combined with gains in payroll employment (+43,700; +3.9%).
There were also fewer job vacancies in finance and insurance (-8,800 to 20,500) and real estate and rental and leasing (-2,200 to 9,000) in June.
Job vacancies increase in health care and social assistance
The number of job vacancies in health care and social assistance rose by 12,400 (+9.2%) to 147,100 in June, offsetting the decrease recorded in May (-12,400; -8.4%). The number of vacancies in June was little changed from the record high of 152,800 reached in July 2022, while payroll employment increased by 64,200 (+2.9%) on a year-over-year basis in June 2023. As a result, the job vacancy rate in the sector edged down to 6.1% in June, compared with the record high of 6.4% reached in July 2022.
Job vacancies edge up in retail trade and increase in mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction
The number of job vacancies in retail trade edged up by 5,700 (+7.2%) to 84,800 in June, partially offsetting decreases of 5,800 (-6.3%) in April and of 6,800 (-7.8%) in May. Meanwhile, payroll employment in the sector recorded cumulative decreases of 10,800 (-0.5%) from April to June. As a result, the job vacancy rate (4.0%) in June has shown little variation since April.
In mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction, the number of job vacancies rose by 2,100 to 10,400 in June.
Chart 2
Since June 2022, unfilled positions have declined in five of the six largest contributors to job vacancies
Job vacancies fall in Quebec and rise in three other provinces
In Quebec, job vacancies decreased by 14,700 (-7.6%) to 178,500 in June, the lowest level since March 2021 (176,400). Meanwhile, unemployment in the province rose by 19,700 (+10.6%) to 205,900 in June 2023. As a result, the unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio was 1.2 in June, up from 1.0 over the previous three months and the highest ratio since August 2021.
In June 2023, job vacancies increased in Saskatchewan (+4,900 to 26,300), New Brunswick (+1,800 to 14,000) and Prince Edward Island (+1,000 to 3,900), while they showed little change in the six remaining provinces.
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. For a more in-depth discussion of 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 (72-203-G).
Unless otherwise stated, this release presents seasonally adjusted data, which facilitate 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 employees.
Job Vacancy and Wage Survey
Job Vacancy and Wage Survey (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.
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, this release presents seasonally adjusted data, which facilitate comparisons because the effects of seasonal variations are removed. For more information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questions.
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.
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. More information about the concepts and use of data from the JVWS is available in the Guide to the Job Vacancy and Wage Survey (75-514-G).
Real-time data tables
Real-time data tables 14-10-0331-01, 14-10-0332-01 and 14-10-0357-01 will be updated on September 18.
Next release
July data for the SEPH and the JVWS will be released on September 28.
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 (72-203-G).
The product "Earnings and payroll employment in brief: Interactive app" (14200001) 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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