Job vacancies, fourth quarter 2025
Released: 2026-03-17
Job vacancies held steady in the fourth quarter of 2025
Job vacancies were little changed in the fourth quarter of 2025 at 495,100, following three straight quarters of decline beginning with the first quarter of 2025.
Year over year, job vacancies were down by 8.9% (-48,100) in the fourth quarter. This was the smallest proportional year-over-year decline since the fourth quarter of 2022 (-6.4%).
Job vacancies rose for full-time occupations (+5,100; +1.4%) and fell for part-time occupations (-4,300; -3.4%) in the fourth quarter of 2025. Meanwhile, job vacancies held steady for both permanent and temporary positions.
Despite little variation in the number of vacancies, total labour demand (the sum of filled and vacant positions) rose in the fourth quarter (+26,500; +0.1%), as payroll employment increased (+25,700; +0.1%).
The job vacancy rate—which corresponds to the number of vacant positions as a proportion of total labour demand—held steady at 2.8% for the third straight quarter. The job vacancy rate had previously declined steadily from the record high of 5.6% reached in the second quarter of 2022.
The proportion of long-term vacancies—vacancies for which recruitment efforts have been ongoing for 90 days or more—across Canada was 28.5% in the fourth quarter of 2025, a 4.1 percentage point decrease from the fourth quarter of 2024 (32.6%) (not seasonally adjusted). This indicates that employers had fewer difficulties filling available positions compared with a year earlier.
Infographic 1
The job vacancy rate holds steady for the third consecutive quarter
Unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio decreases
The unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio—the number of unemployed persons per job vacancy—fell from 3.2 to 3.1 in the fourth quarter of 2025, the first quarterly decline since the second quarter of 2022. The unemployment rate in the fourth quarter of 2025 was 6.8%, down from 7.0% in the third quarter of 2025.
Infographic 2
Unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio decreases but remains above pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels
Job vacancies up in three broad occupational groups and down in two
In the fourth quarter of 2025, job vacancies increased in trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations (+3,800; +4.3%), in business, finance and administration occupations (+3,300; +5.0%) and in occupations in manufacturing and utilities (+1,100; +6.3%). Meanwhile, decreases were recorded in sales and service occupations (-4,100; -2.8%) and in legislative and senior management occupations (-200; -27.8%).
On a year-over-year basis, job vacancies were down in 8 of the 10 broad occupational groups in the fourth quarter, led by health occupations (-13,600; -17.0%), sales and service occupations (-9,500; -6.2%) and trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations (-7,200; -7.2%). Year over year, job vacancies were little changed in natural resources, agriculture and related production occupations and occupations in manufacturing and utilities.
Job vacancies in sales and service occupations decrease
Vacant positions in sales and service occupations fell by 4,100 (-2.8%) in the fourth quarter of 2025 to 144,500, the lowest level of vacancies in the occupational group since the second quarter of 2016 (141,000).
Year over year, job vacancies were down by 10,300 (-7.0%) in sales and service occupations in the fourth quarter of 2025. The largest year-over-year declines were recorded in vacancies for retail salespersons and visual merchandisers (-2,800; -13.4%), other customer and information services representatives (-1,400; -20.3%) and food service supervisors (-1,300; -22.2%) (not seasonally adjusted).
Job vacancies increase in trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations
In the fourth quarter of 2025, there were 92,600 job vacancies in trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations, up 3,800 (+4.3%) from the previous quarter. This was the first increase in vacancies for this occupational group since the second quarter of 2022.
Despite the quarterly increase, job vacancies in trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations were down on a year-over-year basis in the fourth quarter of 2025 (-7,000; -7.4%). The largest year-over-year declines were recorded in vacancies for material handlers (-1,100; -16.6%), electricians (except industrial and power system) (-700; -22.2%) and heavy-duty equipment mechanics (-500; -15.2%) (not seasonally adjusted).
Health occupations continue to record the largest year-over-year decline in job vacancies
There were 66,400 vacant positions in health occupations in the fourth quarter of 2025, little changed from the third quarter of 2025.
On a year-over-year basis, vacancies in health occupations were down by 13,100 (-16.4%) in the fourth quarter, the largest year-over-year decline among occupational groups. Within health occupations, vacancies for registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses (-5,500; -23.6%), nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates (-2,700; -15.1%) and licensed practical nurses (-2,600; -24.3%) recorded the largest declines over the period (not seasonally adjusted).
The year-over-year decline in health occupation vacancies was concentrated in Ontario (-5,600; -20.5%), Quebec (-5,400; -21.7%), and Manitoba (-1,200; -28.2%) (not seasonally adjusted).
Average offered hourly wage increases on a year-over-year basis
On a year-over-year basis, the average offered hourly wage for vacant positions was up by $0.95 (+3.4%) to $29.25 in the fourth quarter of 2025, following a 3.3% increase in the third 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 3.5% in the fourth quarter, following a growth rate of 3.3% in the previous quarter.
Job vacancies down on a year-over-year basis across education levels
Year over year, job vacancies continued to decrease for all educational levels in the fourth quarter of 2025. Vacancies requiring a high school diploma or less fell the most in the fourth quarter (-15,200; -6.1%), but at a slower rate compared with the previous quarter (-28,400; -9.6%). The ratio of the number of unemployed people with a high school diploma or less for every job vacancy requiring this level of education increased from 2.4 in the fourth quarter of 2024 to 2.6 in the fourth quarter of 2025 (data in this section are not seasonally adjusted).
In comparison, the number of vacancies for positions requiring a trade certificate or diploma fell by 9,600 (-13.4%) over the same period. The unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio for this level of education was 2.0 in the fourth quarter, up from 1.4 in the fourth quarter of 2024. This was the largest increase in the unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio among all education levels.
Infographic 3
Largest decline in vacancies for positions requiring a high school diploma or less
The proportion of vacancies requiring a higher level of experience reaches a record high
Changes in the experience or educational requirements for vacant positions can provide insight into the evolving level of specialization and skills employers are seeking.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, the proportion of vacant positions requiring five or more years of experience recorded a record high (12.9%). Meanwhile, the proportion that required a bachelor's degree or higher (16.9%) was just below the record high of 17.7% reached in the first quarter of 2025 (data in this section are not seasonally adjusted).
For context, the proportion of vacancies requiring a bachelor's degree or higher reached a record low of 10.4% in the second quarter of 2015. Similarly, the proportion of vacancies requiring five or more years of experience reached a low of 8.1% in the third quarter of 2022.
The proportion of vacancies requiring a trade certificate or diploma was 13.3% in the fourth quarter of 2025, which was just below the record high of 13.9% in the fourth quarter of 2024. This proportion has gradually increased over the years, from a record low of 7.6% in the third quarter of 2016.
Chart 1
Vacancies requiring five or more years of experience trending upward since second quarter of 2023
Job vacancies increase in two provinces
In the fourth quarter of 2025, job vacancies increased in Quebec (+5,300 to 118,700) and Saskatchewan (+1,200 to 17,100). Vacancies in the remaining provinces and territories were little changed.
In Quebec, the increase in vacancies in the fourth quarter was concentrated in the economic regions of Capitale-Nationale (+1,700; +16.1%), Chaudière-Appalaches (+1,100; +20.2%) and Mauricie (+700; +16.2%). In Saskatchewan, the economic region of Saskatoon–Biggar recorded the largest increase (+700; +13.5%), followed by Yorkton–Melville (+300; +20.2%).
On a year-over-year basis, the job vacancy rate was down in 34 economic regions and up in 7 in the fourth quarter of 2025. The largest declines were recorded in Parklands and North, Manitoba (-1.4 percentage points to 4.8%), Kootenay, British Columbia (-1.3 percentage points to 3.0%), Estrie, Quebec (-1.2 percentage points to 4.1%) and Laurentides, Quebec (-1.2 percentage points to 2.8%). Conversely, the largest increases were recorded in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia (+1.1 percentage points to 4.6%), Mauricie, Quebec (+0.8 percentage points to 4.3%), Muskoka–Kawarthas, Ontario (+0.7 percentage points to 3.8%) and Centre-du-Québec, Quebec (+0.7 percentage points to 3.6%).
Chart 2
The 10 economic regions with the highest and lowest job vacancy rates on a year-over-year basis
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 March 17, 2026.
Next releases
Preliminary monthly data on job vacancies from the JVWS for January 2026 will be released on March 26.
Data on job vacancies from the JVWS for the first quarter of 2026 will be released on June 16, 2026. At that time, the quarterly seasonally adjusted data will be revised, resulting in minor changes to the estimates. Estimates from the first quarter of 2015 to the fourth quarter of 2025 will be republished, incorporating a fine-tuning of the parameters used in the seasonal adjustment process.
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
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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