Payroll employment, earnings and hours, and job vacancies, May 2025
Released: 2025-07-31
$1,293.52
May 2025
3.3% 
(12-month change)
$1,287.45
May 2025
3.9%
(12-month change)
$1,137.52
May 2025
6.4%
(12-month change)
$1,147.78
May 2025
1.4%
(12-month change)
$1,179.67
May 2025
5.2%
(12-month change)
$1,248.65
May 2025
4.5%
(12-month change)
$1,327.17
May 2025
3.5%
(12-month change)
$1,161.35
May 2025
1.2%
(12-month change)
$1,249.04
May 2025
2.9%
(12-month change)
$1,363.97
May 2025
2.3%
(12-month change)
$1,295.63
May 2025
2.3%
(12-month change)
$1,506.10
May 2025
3.7%
(12-month change)
$1,743.11
May 2025
2.3%
(12-month change)
$1,750.16
May 2025
2.9%
(12-month change)
The number of employees receiving pay and benefits from their employer—measured as "payroll employment" in the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours—increased by 15,300 (+0.1%) in May, after edging up 14,600 (+0.1%) in April. On a year-over-year basis, payroll employment was up 43,300 (+0.2%) in May.
Chart 1
Payroll employment increases in May, after edging up in April
Monthly increases in payroll employment in May were recorded in health care and social assistance (+6,200; +0.3%), retail trade (+5,600; +0.3%) and construction (+1,200; +0.1%). These gains were partially offset by declines in manufacturing (-6,400; -0.4%), administrative and support, waste management and remediation services (-3,500; -0.4%) and wholesale trade (-2,900; -0.3%). The remaining 14 sectors were little changed.
Chart 2
Payroll employment in May increases in three sectors and decreases in three
Meanwhile, job vacancies in Canada fell by 20,400 (-4.1%) in May to 478,200, extending the decline recorded in April (-17,400; -3.4%). This was the lowest level of job vacancies recorded since October 2017 (459,800). On a year-over-year basis, job vacancies were down by 89,700 (-15.8%) in May 2025.
Health care and social assistance records payroll employment increase in May
Payroll employment in health care and social assistance rose by 6,200 (+0.3%) in May, building on an increase of 10,600 (+0.4%) in April. Since September 2022, payroll employment in this sector has generally trended upward, increasing by 236,100 (+10.6%) over the period from September 2022 to May 2025.
The monthly gain in May 2025 was attributable to ambulatory health care services (+3,100; +0.4%) and nursing and residential care facilities (+2,200; +0.4%). Payroll employment in hospitals was virtually unchanged in May, following an increase of 3,500 (+0.5%) in April.
Payroll employment in retail trade increases in May
Payroll employment in retail trade increased by 5,600 (+0.3%) in May. The largest contributors to the increase were building material and supplies dealers (+2,500; +1.9%), health and personal care retailers (+2,500; +1.1%) and clothing and clothing accessories retailers (+2,000; +1.2%). These gains were partially offset by a decline of 1,800 (-1.8%) in department stores.
Prior to the increase in May, payroll employment in the retail trade sector had recorded a cumulative decline of 16,700 (-0.8%) from January to April. The decline over this period was attributable to grocery and convenience retailers (-6,000; -1.4%), building material and supplies dealers (-3,500; -2.6%) and warehouse clubs, supercentres and other general merchandise retailers (-3,000; -1.8%).
Payroll employment increases in construction
Payroll employment in construction increased by 1,200 (+0.1%) in May, following growth in April (+1,100; +0.1%) and March (+2,100; +0.2%). These recent gains partially offset declines recorded earlier in the year. Compared with December 2024, payroll employment in construction was down 9,400 (-0.8%) in May 2025.
The monthly increase in construction in May was led by building equipment contractors (+1,400; +0.4%) and foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors (+1,000; +0.8%). At the same time, payroll employment in residential building construction declined by 900 (-0.6%).
On a year-over-year basis, payroll employment in construction was little changed in May.
Payroll employment in manufacturing continues to trend down
Payroll employment in the manufacturing sector decreased by 6,400 (-0.4%) in May, marking the third monthly decline in five months. From December 2024 to May 2025, payroll employment in manufacturing fell by 19,400 (-1.2%). The overall net decline reflected broad-based decreases across subsectors, led by transportation equipment manufacturing (-5,600; -2.8%), chemical manufacturing (-2,900, -3.0%) and fabricated metal product manufacturing (-2,400; -1.5%).
The net decline in transportation equipment manufacturing payroll employment from December 2024 to May 2025 was mostly attributable to motor vehicle parts manufacturing, where payroll employment fell by 3,600 (-5.0%) over this period.
Payroll employment in wholesale trade falls in May
Payroll employment in wholesale trade fell in May by 2,900 (-0.3%), bringing the cumulative decline since December 2024 to 6,600 (-0.8%). Machinery, equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers (-3,200; -1.3%) recorded the largest decline over the period from December 2024 to May 2025.
On a year-over-year basis, payroll employment in wholesale trade was down by 4,500 (-0.5%) in May.
Average weekly earnings increase at a slower pace on a year-over-year basis
Year over year, average weekly earnings were up 3.3% to $1,294 in May, following an increase of 4.3% in April. Slower year-over-year growth in May was broad-based across all sectors. In general, growth in average weekly earnings can reflect a range of factors, including changes in wages, composition of employment, hours worked and base-year effects.
Month over month, average weekly earnings were little changed in May.
In May, average weekly hours worked were down to 33.3 hours, compared with 33.5 hours in April 2025 and May 2024.
Job vacancies decrease in May
In May, job vacancies in Canada fell by 20,400 (-4.1%) to 478,200, extending the decline recorded in April (-17,400; -3.4%). This was the lowest level of job vacancies recorded since October 2017 (459,800). On a year-over-year basis, job vacancies were down by 89,700 (-15.8%) in May 2025.
The job vacancy rate—which corresponds to the number of vacant positions as a proportion of total labour demand—was 2.7% in May, down from 2.8% in April. The rate was down by 0.5 percentage points from May 2024 (3.2%).
There were 3.3 unemployed persons for every job vacancy in May 2025, up from 3.1 in April. This was the highest unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio since January 2017 (excluding 2020 and 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic). On a year-over-year basis, the ratio was up by 0.9 in May 2025. This increase was the result of an increase in the number of unemployed persons (+190,900; +13.8%) coupled with a decrease in job vacancies (-88,900; -15.7%, excluding the territories). Over the same year-over-year period, the unemployment rate increased from 6.3% to 7.0% (according to the Labour Force Survey).
Infographic 1
Unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio continues to rise, as unemployment increases and vacancies fall in May
Job vacancies decrease in four sectors and increase in two
In May, job vacancies were down in construction (-5,400; -13.5%), professional, scientific and technical services (-4,100; -10.8%), mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (-900; -19.2%) and management of companies and enterprises (-400; -18.0%).
Meanwhile, job vacancies were up in finance and insurance (+3,400; +19.0%), and wholesale trade (+2,800; +16.3%). In both these sectors, the increases partially offset declines observed in April.
Year over year, job vacancies were down in 12 sectors in May. The largest declines were recorded in health care and social assistance (-27,200; -21.4%), accommodation and food services (-10,300; -16.3%) and retail trade (-9,300; -16.7%). The only sector to record an increase was arts, entertainment and recreation (+1,700; +23.5%).
Chart 3
Year over year, job vacancies decrease in majority of sectors
Job vacancies in construction fall for the first time since August 2024
In May, job vacancies in construction fell by 5,400 (-13.5%) to 34,700, marking the lowest level recorded since November 2019 (33,500) and the first monthly decrease since August 2024. Year over year, vacancies in the sector were down by 8,600 (-19.8%) in May 2025.
The job vacancy rate in construction was 2.9% in May, down 0.4 percentage points from April and down 0.6 percentage points from May 2024.
Job vacancies in professional, scientific and technical services decrease for the first time since December 2024
Job vacancies in professional, scientific and technical services decreased by 4,100 (-10.8%) to 34,200 in May 2025, the first decrease since December 2024. The number of vacancies in the sector in May 2025 was the lowest since May 2018 (32,700).
The job vacancy rate in this sector was 2.7% in May 2025, down 0.3 percentage points from April.
Job vacancies fall in Quebec
In May, Quebec (-12,800; -10.7%) was the only province to record a significant decrease in its number of job vacancies. In other provinces, the number of vacancies was little changed in May.
Year over year, the job vacancy rate was down in six provinces in May, with the largest decreases being in Saskatchewan (-1.2 percentage points to 3.0%), Alberta (-0.8 percentage points to 2.7%) and British Columbia (-0.7 percentage points to 3.1%).
In May, the unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio was the highest in Newfoundland and Labrador, at 6.8. In comparison, the ratio in the province was 5.4 in May 2024. Among the remaining provinces, Ontario (+1.1 to 4.1), Alberta (+0.9 to 3.5), Quebec (+0.8 to 2.7) and British Columbia (+0.8 to 2.6) recorded the largest year-over-year increases in their unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio in May 2025.
In contrast, the ratio was the lowest in Saskatchewan (1.8) in May and was little changed on a year-over-year basis.
Chart 4
Year over year, unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio up in 5 of 10 provinces
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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 and 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 data 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 people in the labour market.
Employment trends from the SEPH and from the LFS generally track each other closely, especially over longer periods. That said, because of differences in concepts, definitions and methodologies, variations in employment levels in the SEPH and in the LFS may differ, especially over shorter periods. 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).
The SEPH and LFS both also provide monthly indicators of pay received by employees. Used together, average weekly earnings (from the SEPH) and average hourly wages (from the LFS) can provide a comprehensive portrait of pay dynamics in Canada. For information on definitions for each indicator, key conceptual and measurement differences, and guidance to data users on when to use each indicator, refer to the report "Earnings and Wages – A guide to using indicators from the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours and the Labour Force Survey."
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 worked data are for hourly and salaried employees only and exclude businesses that could not be classified to a North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 2022 version 1.0 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. Changes in average weekly earnings can reflect a range of factors, including changes in wages, composition of employment, hours worked and base-year effects.
The base-year effect refers to the impact that trends from 12 months earlier (the base month) have on the current month's estimate of year-over-year change. In the case of the SEPH, when the average weekly earnings in the base month are at the peak of a short-term trend, this tends to have a downward effect on year-over-year average weekly earnings growth in the current month. In contrast, if the value of the base month is at a low point of a trend, this tends to have an upward effect on the current month's year-over-year growth in average weekly earnings.
Job Vacancy and Wage Survey
The 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. This analysis focuses on differences between estimates that are statistically significant at the 68% confidence level.
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 unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio excludes the territories for consistency with the geographic coverage of the available LFS data (table 14-10-0287-01).
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
Tables 14-10-0357-01 and 14-10-0358-01 have now been archived.
Real-time data tables 14-10-0331-01 and 14-10-0332-01 will be updated on August 18, 2025.
Next release
June 2025 data for the SEPH and JVWS will be released on August 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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