Payroll employment, earnings and hours, and job vacancies, February 2026
Released: 2026-04-30
$1,338.24
February 2026
3.4% 
(12-month change)
$1,295.01
February 2026
2.3%
(12-month change)
$1,179.64
February 2026
8.4%
(12-month change)
$1,205.85
February 2026
5.3%
(12-month change)
$1,224.37
February 2026
5.1%
(12-month change)
$1,280.65
February 2026
2.9%
(12-month change)
$1,382.99
February 2026
3.6%
(12-month change)
$1,213.63
February 2026
5.4%
(12-month change)
$1,292.18
February 2026
2.5%
(12-month change)
$1,373.25
February 2026
1.6%
(12-month change)
$1,356.68
February 2026
4.4%
(12-month change)
$1,504.05
February 2026
2.2%
(12-month change)
$1,737.56
February 2026
0.9%
(12-month change)
$1,876.33
February 2026
8.3%
(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—decreased by 60,200 (-0.3%) in February, following an increase of 44,300 (+0.2%) in January. On a year-over-year basis, payroll employment was virtually unchanged in February.
Chart 1
Payroll employment falls in February, following an increase in January
In February, monthly payroll employment declines were led by transportation and warehousing (-14,000; -1.6%), administrative and support services (-7,500; -0.9%), retail trade (-5,900; -0.3%), construction (-4,200; -0.3%) and accommodation and food services (-4,100; -0.3%).
Meanwhile, the number of job vacancies was little changed, at 497,200 in February. On a year-over-year basis, job vacancies were down by 29,000 (-5.5%).
Chart 2
Payroll employment decreases in 10 sectors and is little changed in the remaining 10 in February
Transportation and warehousing records a payroll employment decline in February
In February, payroll employment in transportation and warehousing fell by 14,000 (-1.6%), following little change in January.
On a year-over-year basis, payroll employment in transportation and warehousing edged down (-8,000; -0.9%) in February, led by truck transportation (-4,600; -2.2%) and air transportation (-2,600; -3.0%). The year-over-year declines in these subsectors were slightly offset by increases in warehousing and storage (+1,700; +1.9%) and pipeline transportation (+1,000; +10.5%).
Payroll employment in administrative and support, waste management and remediation services declines in February
Payroll employment in administrative and support, waste management and remediation services decreased by 7,500 (-0.9%) in February, following an increase (+5,500; +0.7%) in January. The decline in February was led by services to buildings and dwellings (-2,800; -1.2%) and employment services (-2,600; -1.4%).
On a year-over-year basis, payroll employment in the sector was down by 8,300 (-1.0%) in February, led by business support services (-6,400; -9.4%) and employment services (-4,700; -2.4%).
Payroll employment records second consecutive monthly decline in retail trade
In February, payroll employment in retail trade fell by 5,900 (-0.3%), following a decline of 7,000 (-0.4%) in January and an increase of 4,700 (+0.2%) in December 2025.
On a year-over-year basis, payroll employment in retail trade was down by 26,400 (-1.3%) in February 2026. The year-over-year decline in February was broad-based, with the largest losses being recorded in clothing and clothing accessories retailers (-9,500; -5.6%), grocery and convenience retailers (-5,900; -1.4%), department stores (-5,800; -5.9%) as well as building material and supplies dealers (-3,200; -2.3%).
Over the same period, payroll employment in warehouse clubs, supercentres and other general merchandise retailers was up 5,100 (+3.2%) despite widespread year-over-year declines.
Payroll employment in construction falls in February
In February, payroll employment in construction fell by 4,200 (-0.3%), following a cumulative increase of 19,600 (+1.7%) from June 2025 to January 2026. In February, monthly declines were led by other heavy and civil engineering construction (-1,300; -3.4%) and building equipment contractors (-1,000; -0.3%).
On a year-over-year basis, payroll employment in construction was up by 17,600 (+1.5%) in February, led by increases in building equipment contractors (+5,700; +1.8%), non-residential building construction (+4,100; +3.2%) and other specialty trade contractors (+2,800; +2.0%). Residential building construction recorded a slight year-over-year increase of 800 (+0.5%). Land subdivision was the only industry to record a year-over-year decline (-1,300; -9.7%) in February.
Payroll employment loss in accommodation and food services in February more than offsets the gain in January
Payroll employment in accommodation and food services decreased by 4,100 (-0.3%) in February, more than offsetting the gain recorded in January (+3,100; +0.2%). The monthly decline in February was led by full-service restaurants and limited-service eating places (-3,600; -0.4%) and special food services (-1,400; -1.8%).
On a year-over-year basis, payroll employment in accommodation and food services was up slightly (+1,200; +0.1%) in February.
Average weekly earnings increase both on a month-over-month and year-over-year basis
Month over month, average weekly earnings were up by 1.4% to $1,338 in February, following little change in January.
Year over year, average weekly earnings were up by 3.4% in February, following an increase of 1.9% in January. 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.
In February, average weekly hours (33.3 hours) were little changed month over month but were down by 0.9% on a year-over-year basis.
Job vacancies hold steady in February
In February, there were 497,200 job vacancies in Canada, little changed from January. On a year-over-year basis, job vacancies were down by 29,000 (-5.5%). This decrease was significantly lower than the decline from February 2024 to February 2025 (-124,600; -19.1%).
The job vacancy rate—which corresponds to the number of vacant positions as a proportion of total labour demand—was 2.8% in February 2026, unchanged from January. The rate was down by 0.1 percentage points from February 2025 (2.9%). In comparison, the job vacancy rate declined by 0.7 percentage points from February 2024 (when it was 3.6%) to February 2025.
There were 3.1 unemployed persons for every job vacancy in February 2026, up 0.1 from January. On a year-over-year basis, the ratio was up by 0.3. From November 2025 to February 2026, the unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio has remained within a range of 3.0 to 3.1.
Infographic 1
Job vacancies continue to hold steady in February
Job vacancies increase in three sectors and decrease in three
In February, job vacancies were up month over month in finance and insurance (+3,900; +22.1%), other services (except public administration) (+3,300; +14.4%) and mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (+1,000; +24.4%).
Conversely, vacancies decreased in educational services (-3,100; -16.0%), information and cultural industries (-2,100; -28.1%) and management of companies and enterprises (-600; -24.7%) in February. The decrease in vacancies in educational services offset the cumulative increase in the sector from September 2025 to January 2026 (+3,100; +19.5%).
Chart 3
Month over month, job vacancies increase in three sectors and decrease in three
The job vacancy rate in Canada has decreased following the peak of 5.7% in March 2022, but it has been more stable across most sectors from February 2025 to February 2026. From February 2024 to February 2025, the job vacancy rate decreased in 16 of 20 sectors, with the largest declines being recorded in construction (-1.5 percentage points to 3.3%), transportation and warehousing (-1.4 percentage points to 2.9%) and accommodation and food services (-1.3 percentage points to 4.3%).
In comparison, in the 12-month period ending in February 2026, the job vacancy rate decreased in two sectors: health care and social assistance (-0.7 percentage points to 3.5%) and real estate and rental and leasing (-0.5 percentage points to 2.1%). Among the six sectors that recorded the highest levels of vacancies, health care and social assistance was the only sector to record a significant decline in their job vacancy rate over the period.
Chart 4
Job vacancy rates in the six sectors with the highest levels of vacancies
Year over year, job vacancies down the most in Ontario and Quebec and up in Alberta
Year over year, job vacancies were down in Ontario (-15,700; -8.3%), Quebec (-10,800; -9.1%), Manitoba (-2,700; -12.6%) and Saskatchewan (-1,600; -9.9%) in February. Meanwhile, Alberta was the only province to record an increase in job vacancies (+5,400; +8.9%) over the period.
The job vacancy rate in February was highest in British Columbia (3.3%), Nova Scotia (3.0%) and Alberta (3.0%). Meanwhile, the rate was lowest in Newfoundland and Labrador (2.3%), Ontario (2.5%) and Quebec (2.7%).
In February, there were 5.6 unemployed persons for every job vacancy in Newfoundland and Labrador, the highest ratio among the provinces. In comparison, the unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio was lowest in British Columbia (2.3), followed by Manitoba (2.4) and Saskatchewan (2.5).
Map 1
Unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio highest in Newfoundland and Labrador
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 comparable 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 May 19, 2026.
New data table on monthly payroll employment for agriculture and support activities
A new data table (14-10-0481) presenting the number of payroll employees in the agriculture and support activities industries is now available on the Statistics Canada website. This new monthly table includes all industries primarily engaged in crop production, animal production and aquaculture, and their respective support activities since January 2025.
To classify employment data by industry, the SEPH program uses industry codes assigned to businesses based on their main revenue-generating activity, using the NAICS. The population covered in this new SEPH data table includes crop production (NAICS code 111), support activities for crop production (NAICS code 1151), animal production and aquaculture (NAICS code 112) and support activities for animal production (NAICS code 1152). It is important to note that these agriculture-related industries are excluded from the total SEPH employment counts presented in table 14-10-0201-01.
Next release
March 2026 data for SEPH and JVWS will be released on May 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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