Payroll employment, earnings and hours, and job vacancies, July 2025
Released: 2025-09-25
$1,307.86
July 2025
3.3% 
(12-month change)
$1,301.68
July 2025
4.5%
(12-month change)
$1,159.66
July 2025
8.3%
(12-month change)
$1,160.12
July 2025
3.4%
(12-month change)
$1,231.07
July 2025
7.4%
(12-month change)
$1,257.89
July 2025
3.9%
(12-month change)
$1,341.33
July 2025
3.4%
(12-month change)
$1,179.73
July 2025
2.1%
(12-month change)
$1,263.80
July 2025
3.9%
(12-month change)
$1,376.53
July 2025
3.2%
(12-month change)
$1,298.18
July 2025
1.5%
(12-month change)
$1,514.58
July 2025
4.7%
(12-month change)
$1,734.71
July 2025
0.9%
(12-month change)
$1,818.33
July 2025
5.1%
(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 21,600 (+0.1%) in July, following a decline of 9,100 (-0.1%) in June.
Overall, there has been little net employment variation since the beginning of the year. In July, payroll employment was down slightly compared with January 2025 (-15,500; -0.1%).
Chart 1
Payroll employment increases in July, following a decline in June
In July, monthly payroll employment increases were recorded in 6 of the 20 sectors, led by health care and social assistance (+14,900; +0.6%), finance and insurance (+8,700; +1.0%) and accommodation and food services (+2,600; +0.2%). These increases were partially offset by declines in five sectors, including manufacturing (-4,600; -0.3%) and construction (-2,200; -0.2%).
Meanwhile, job vacancies in Canada decreased by 20,600 (-4.2%) to 469,900 in July. On a year-over-year basis, job vacancies were down by 79,400 (-14.5%).
Chart 2
Payroll employment in July increases in six sectors and decreases in five
Health care and social assistance records payroll employment increase in July
Payroll employment in health care and social assistance increased by 14,900 (+0.6%) in July, following a decline in June (-2,100; -0.1%). Payroll employment in this sector has generally trended upward since September 2022, with a gain of 248,100 (+11.2%) over this period.
The monthly payroll employment increase in health care and social assistance in July 2025 was broad-based, with increases recorded in 13 out of 18 industries. General medical and surgical hospitals (+4,800; +0.7%), child day-care services (+2,200; +1.1%) and individual and family services (+1,400; +0.7%) recorded the largest increases in payroll employment.
Payroll employment in finance and insurance increases in July
In July, payroll employment in finance and insurance rose by 8,700 (+1.0%), more than offsetting the decline in June (-4,400; -0.5%). The increase in July was mainly attributable to gains in credit intermediation and related activities (+5,000; +1.2%) and insurance carriers and related activities (+3,000; +1.1%).
On a year-over-year basis, payroll employment in finance and insurance was up by 9,100 (+1.1%) in July.
Accommodation and food services records an increase in payroll employment in July
Payroll employment in accommodation and food services rose in July (+2,600; +0.2%) for the third consecutive month, bringing the cumulative gain since May 2025 to 11,100 (+0.9%). These recent gains partially offset the cumulative decline recorded from December 2024 to April 2025 (-18,900; -1.5%).
On a year-over-year basis, payroll employment in this sector was down 7,200 (-0.6%) in July, driven by declines in full-service restaurants and limited-service eating places (-10,800; -1.1%) and drinking places (-2,100; -6.9%).
Payroll employment in manufacturing continues to trend down
Payroll employment in manufacturing decreased by 4,600 (-0.3%) in July, contributing to a cumulative decline of 28,000 (-1.8%) since January 2025. Over this period, 19 of 21 subsectors in manufacturing recorded declines, including transportation equipment manufacturing (-7,500; -3.7%), machinery manufacturing (-3,700, -2.6%) and chemical manufacturing (-3,300; -3.4%).
Since January, the decline in transportation equipment manufacturing was mostly attributable to motor vehicle parts manufacturing—payroll employment in that subsector fell by 5,800 (-8.0%) over this period.
Payroll employment in construction records two consecutive monthly declines
Payroll employment in construction decreased by 2,200 (-0.2%) in July, following a decline in June (-3,700; -0.3%).
Compared with its recent peak recorded in December 2024, payroll employment in construction was down by 13,700 (-1.1%) in July 2025. The decline over this period was driven by specialty trade contractors (-7,000; -1.0%), residential building construction (-5,500; -3.2%) and building equipment contractors (-2,800; -0.8%).
Year over year, payroll employment in the construction sector was down 3,000 (-0.3%) in July.
Average weekly earnings increase on both a month-over-month and year-over-year basis
Year over year, average weekly earnings were up 3.3% to $1,308 in July, following a 3.6% increase in June. 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 increased 0.6% in July.
Average weekly hours worked (33.3 hours) were little changed in July but were down 0.6% on a year-over-year basis.
Job vacancies decline in July
In July, job vacancies in Canada decreased by 20,600 (-4.2%) to 469,900. On a year-over-year basis, job vacancies were down by 79,400 (-14.5%).
The job vacancy rate—which corresponds to the number of vacant positions as a proportion of total labour demand—was 2.6% in July, down 0.1 percentage points from June (2.7%) and down 0.5 percentage points from July 2024.
There were 3.3 unemployed persons for every job vacancy in July 2025, up from 3.2 in June. 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 unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio was up by 0.7. This year-over-year increase was the result of a decrease in job vacancies (-78,600; -14.4%, excluding the territories), coupled with an increase in the number of unemployed persons (+134,900; +9.5%). Over the same period, the unemployment rate rose from 6.4% to 6.9% (according to the Labour Force Survey). The unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio excludes the territories for consistency with the available Labour Force Survey data.
Infographic 1
Unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio climbs further in July, driven by rising unemployment and fewer vacancies
Job vacancies fall in three sectors
In July, job vacancies were down in construction (-5,600; -14.3%), finance and insurance (-4,100; -19.4%) and agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (-1,700; -24.4%). The remaining sectors were little changed.
Year over year, job vacancies fell in 10 out of 20 sectors in July. Health care and social assistance (-32,800; -26.1%) recorded the largest decline in vacancies, followed by construction (-11,200; -24.9%) and retail trade (-7,800; -14.8%). Vacancies in the remaining 10 sectors were little changed.
In July, other services (except public administration)—which includes a variety of services such as personal care and repair and maintenance—had the highest job vacancy rate among all sectors at 4.1%. This was followed by accommodation and food services (3.8%) and health care and social assistance (3.7%). By comparison, educational services (1.1%), utilities (1.3%) and management of companies and enterprises (1.4%) recorded the lowest job vacancy rates.
Job vacancies decrease in construction
Job vacancies in construction declined by 5,600 (-14.3%) to 33,800 in July. The number of vacancies in the sector was down by 11,200 (-24.9%) compared with July 2024, and down by 55,200 (-62.0%) compared with the peak in April 2022 (89,000).
In July 2025, the job vacancy rate in construction decreased by 0.4 percentage points to 2.8%, the lowest rate since October 2017 (when it was also 2.8%). The job vacancy rate was down 0.9 percentage points from July 2024 (3.7%).
Vacancies in manufacturing little changed since January 2025
There were 32,700 job vacancies in manufacturing in July, little changed from June. Vacancies in the sector have recorded little net variation since the beginning of the year. However, total labour demand in manufacturing was down from January 2025 (-28,900; -1.8%), as payroll employment has trended down.
Job vacancies decrease in three provinces
In July, decreases in job vacancies were recorded in Alberta (-6,100; -8.9%), Quebec (-5,300; -4.9%) and Newfoundland and Labrador (-1,300; -26.9%). Vacancies were little changed in other provinces.
Year over year, the job vacancy rate was down in seven provinces in July. The largest decreases were recorded in British Columbia (-0.9 percentage points to 3.0%), Manitoba (-0.7 percentage points to 2.7%) and Saskatchewan (-0.6 percentage points to 2.8%). The vacancy rate was little changed in other provinces.
In July, among the provinces, the job vacancy rate was highest in Nova Scotia (3.2%), British Columbia (3.0%) and Alberta (2.9%). By comparison, Newfoundland and Labrador (1.6%), Ontario (2.4%) and Quebec (2.6%) recorded the lowest vacancy rates.
Chart 3
Year over year, the job vacancy rate decreases in seven provinces and one territory in July
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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 of time. That said, because of differences in concepts, definitions and methodologies, variations in employment levels in 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 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 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 SEPH, when the average weekly earnings in the base month is 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 October 14, 2025.
Next release
August 2025 data for SEPH and JVWS will be released on October 30.
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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