Job vacancies, second quarter 2025
Released: 2025-09-16
Job vacancies fall in the second quarter of 2025
Job vacancies fell by 18,900 (-3.6%) to 505,900 in the second quarter of 2025, following a decrease of 20,000 (-3.7%) in the first quarter. Compared with the second quarter of 2024, job vacancies were down by 72,900 (-12.6%) in the second quarter of 2025. The number of vacancies in the second quarter was the lowest recorded since the first quarter of 2018 (501,500).
In the second quarter of 2025, job vacancies fell in full-time positions (-20,300; -5.1%), while there was little change for part-time positions. Vacancies fell in both permanent (-14,600; -3.4%) and temporary (-4,300; -4.5%) positions.
Total labour demand (the sum of filled and vacant positions) fell by 54,800 (-0.3%) in the second quarter due to a combined decrease in both job vacancies (-18,900; -3.6%) and payroll employment (-36,000; -0.2%).
The job vacancy rate—which corresponds to the number of vacant positions as a proportion of total labour demand—fell by 0.1 percentage points to 2.8% in the second quarter. On a year-over-year basis, the job vacancy rate was down 0.4 percentage points.
Infographic 1
Total labour demand falls in the second quarter of 2025, following two quarters of consecutive increases
The unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio is highest for positions requiring a bachelor's degree or above
The unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio—the number of unemployed persons per job vacancy—rose to 2.9 in the second quarter of 2025, up from 2.2 in the second quarter of 2024. The ratio rose across all educational levels over this period. The unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio excludes the territories for consistency with the available Labour Force Survey data (data in this section are not seasonally adjusted).
The unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio was highest for positions requiring a bachelor's degree or higher, at 4.9 in the second quarter of 2025. Compared with the second quarter of 2024, there was nearly one additional unemployed person for each vacancy requiring a bachelor's degree or higher (+0.9) in the second quarter of 2025, the biggest increase across all educational levels.
In comparison, in the second quarter, there were 2.7 unemployed persons per job vacancy requiring other non-university certificates and university certificates below a bachelor's degree and 2.5 unemployed persons for each vacancy requiring a high school diploma or less. Across all education levels, the unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio was lowest for positions requiring a trade certificate or diploma, at 1.8 in the second quarter.
Chart 1
Year over year, unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio is up in all levels of education
In the second quarter, the average offered hourly wage for job vacancies requiring a bachelor's degree or higher was $43.60. This is more than twice the average offered hourly wage for vacancies requiring a high school diploma or less ($21.65).
Job vacancies down in six broad occupational groups and up in one
In the second quarter of 2025, job vacancies decreased in six broad occupational groups: trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations (-5,900; -6.1%); health occupations (-5,600; -7.5%); business, finance and administration occupations (-3,300; -4.7%); occupations in education, law and social, community and government services (-2,000; -4.0%); occupations in manufacturing and utilities (-1,500; -8.4%); and legislative and senior management occupations (-300; -23.3%). Meanwhile, occupations in art, culture, recreation and sport (+900; +9.5%) was the only broad occupation group to record an increase in job vacancies in the second quarter.
On a year-over-year basis, the number of job vacancies was down in 9 out of 10 broad occupational groups in the second quarter, led by health occupations (-18,100; -20.8%), sales and service occupations (-16,100; -9.7%) and trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations (-15,700; -14.7%). Occupations in art, culture, recreation and sport was the only occupational group to see little change year over year.
Chart 2
Year over year, job vacancies decrease in 9 out of 10 broad occupational groups
Proportion of long-term vacancies decreases across Canada
Long-term vacancies are a key indicator of labour market conditions, reflecting the number of days a position remains unfilled despite active recruitment efforts. In the Job Vacancy and Wage Survey, a vacancy is considered long-term when recruitment efforts have been ongoing for 90 days or more. These vacancies can point to challenges in recruitment, labour market tightness or inefficiencies in the hiring processes.
The proportion of long-term vacancies across Canada was 27.5% in the second quarter of 2025, a 2.6 percentage-point decrease from the second quarter of 2024 (30.1%). Across the broad occupational groups, the largest year-over-year decreases in the second quarter of 2025 were in occupations in art, culture, recreation and sport (-8.7 percentage points to 19.6%), business, finance and administration occupations (-4.6 percentage points to 17.4%), trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations (-4.0 percentage points to 29.9%) and sales and service occupations (-1.8 percentage points to 23.2%) (not seasonally adjusted).
Vacancies in health occupations continue to decline
Job vacancies in health occupations fell by 5,600 (-7.5%) to 68,900 in the second quarter of 2025, extending the decline recorded in the first quarter.
Year over year, vacancies in health occupations were down by 18,000 (-20.7%) in the second quarter. Despite this decline, job vacancies in health occupations remained significantly above pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels (39,000 in the fourth quarter of 2019). The largest year-over-year decreases in the second quarter of 2025 were in vacancies for registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses (-8,200 to 19,500), nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates (-3,900 to 14,100) and licensed practical nurses (-3,600 to 8,700). Together, these three occupations accounted for 61.2% of the total vacancies in health in the second quarter (not seasonally adjusted).
Job vacancies fall in trades and transport and equipment operators and related occupations
In the second quarter of 2025, job vacancies fell by 5,900 (-6.1%) to 90,700 in trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations. The decrease was attributable to full-time vacant positions (-7,000; -7.8%), as part-time vacant positions (+1,200; +16.7%) recorded an increase.
On a year-over-year basis, the number of vacant positions in the second quarter in the trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations broad occupational group was down by 15,900 (-13.9%). The largest declines in vacancies within this occupational group were construction trades helpers and labourers (-3,800 to 10,600) and transport truck drivers (-2,700 to 12,600) (not seasonally adjusted).
Fewer job vacancies in business, finance and administration occupations
Job vacancies in business, finance and administration occupations declined by 3,300 (-4.7%) to 66,300 in the second quarter of 2025.
On a year-over-year basis, job vacancies in business, finance and administration occupations were down by 11.1% (-8,700) in the second quarter. Within this broad occupational group, the largest year-over-year declines were in administrative officers (-2,000 to 4,000), shippers and receivers (-1,800 to 2,500) and financial auditors and accountants (-1,000 to 2,700) (not seasonally adjusted).
Year-over-year growth of average offered hourly wage decelerates in the second quarter
On a year-over-year basis, the average offered hourly wage for vacant positions was up by 4.5% (+$1.20) to $28.00 in the second quarter of 2025, following a 6.1% year-over-year increase to $28.90 in the first quarter (data in this section are not seasonally adjusted).
In comparison, the average hourly wage for all employees (as measured by the Labour Force Survey) was up by 3.3% in the second quarter, following an increase of 3.6% in the previous quarter.
Recent increases in average offered hourly wages for vacant positions were partly due to a shift in the relative composition of job vacancies towards occupations that typically offer higher wages. Using a method that holds constant the composition of job vacancies by occupation (based on the composition observed in the second quarter of 2024), average offered hourly wages grew by 4.1% on a year-over-year basis in the second quarter of 2025, down from a 4.7% year-over-year increase in the first quarter.
Job vacancies down in five provinces
In the second quarter of 2025, job vacancies decreased in Quebec (-7,600 to 113,300), Ontario (-7,300 to 179,000), Manitoba (-1,000 to 18,700), Newfoundland and Labrador (-800 to 4,600) and Prince Edward Island (-500 to 2,000). There was little change in the other provinces and territories.
On a year-over-year basis, the job vacancy rate was down in 44 of the 69 economic regions in the second quarter, with the largest decreases being in the Northwest Territories (-2.4 percentage points to 3.3%), Parklands and North, Manitoba (-2.1 percentage points to 4.3%), and South Coast–Burin Peninsula and Notre Dame–Central Bonavista Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador (-1.5 percentage points to 1.9%). Meanwhile, the job vacancy rate rose in three regions: Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Quebec (+0.5 percentage points to 3.0%), Laval, Quebec (+0.4 percentage points to 2.8%), and Northeast, Ontario (+0.3 percentage points to 3.8%).
In the second quarter, the job vacancy rate was the highest in Northwest, Ontario (4.8%), North Coast and Nechako, British Columbia (4.8%), and Estrie, Quebec (4.5%). In contrast, the vacancy rate was the lowest in South Coast–Burin Peninsula and Notre Dame–Central Bonavista Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador (1.9%), South Central and North Central, Manitoba (2.0%), and Windsor–Sarnia, Ontario (2.1%).
Chart 3
Economic regions with the highest and lowest job vacancy rates
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Note to readers
The Job Vacancy and Wage Survey (JVWS) provides comprehensive data on job vacancies and offered wages by industrial sector and detailed occupation for Canada and the provinces, territories and economic regions. Additional information is also available by occupation, such as the proportion of job vacancies for full-time and part-time positions, the duration of job vacancies, the levels of education and experience sought for the job, and other characteristics. Job vacancy, offered wage and vacancy characteristics data are released quarterly.
Estimates by sector are based on the North American Industry Classification System 2022 Version 1.0. Estimates by geographical area are based on the Standard Geographical Classification 2021. Estimates by occupation reflect the National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021 Version 1.0. The NOC is a five-tiered hierarchical structure of occupational groups with successive levels of disaggregation. The structure is as follows: (1) 10 broad occupational categories, also referred to as one-digit NOC; (2) 45 major groups, also referred to as two-digit NOC; (3) 89 sub-major groups, also referred to as three-digit NOC; (4) 162 minor groups, also referred to as four-digit NOC; and (5) 516 unit groups, also referred to as five-digit NOC.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, data collection for the JVWS was suspended for the second and third quarters of 2020.
Preliminary monthly estimates are produced for job vacancies and job vacancy rates by province and by industrial sector. These JVWS preliminary monthly estimates are released on a monthly basis with the estimates from the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours. 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).
The target population of the survey includes all business locations in Canada, excluding those involved primarily in religious organizations and private households. Federal, provincial and territorial, as well as international and other extraterritorial public administrations are also excluded from the survey.
Unless otherwise stated, this release presents seasonally adjusted estimates, which facilitate comparisons by removing the effects of seasonal variations. For more information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questions.
Seasonally adjusted quarterly job vacancy data are available online (tables 14-10-0398-01, 14-10-0399-01 and 14-10-0400-01). The analyses of the job vacancy levels and rates by sector (20 broad industrial sector groups), one-digit NOC (10 broad occupational categories), province and economic region are based on seasonally adjusted data. However, the analyses of the job vacancy levels and rates by subsector, two-digit NOC, three-digit NOC, four-digit NOC and five-digit NOC are based on non-seasonally adjusted data.
The unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio excludes the territories for consistency with the geographic coverage of the Labour Force Survey.
This analysis focuses on differences between estimates that are statistically significant at the 68% confidence level.
Data tables
Tables 14-10-0325, 14-10-0326, 14-10-0328 and 14-10-0356 have now been archived. They have been replaced with tables 14-10-0441-01, 14-10-0442-01, 14-10-0443-01 and 14-10-0444-01, respectively, presenting the new classifications.
Data tables are updated on September 16, 2025.
Next releases
Data on job vacancies from the JVWS for the third quarter of 2025 will be released on December 16.
Preliminary monthly data on job vacancies from the JVWS for July 2025 will be released on September 25.
Products
More information about the concepts and use of data from the Job Vacancy and Wage Survey is available online in the Guide to the Job Vacancy and Wage Survey (75-514-G).
The product "Labour Market Indicators, by province, territory and economic region, unadjusted for seasonality" (71-607-X) is also available. This dynamic web application provides access to Statistics Canada's labour market indicators for Canada, by province, territory and economic region, and allows users to view a snapshot of key labour market indicators, observe geographical rankings for each indicator using an interactive map and table, and easily copy data into other programs.
Contact information
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