Job vacancies little changed, wage growth slowing: Statistics Canada

OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says job vacancies were little changed at 848,800 in December, compared with 849,200 in November, levelling off after trending downward from a peak of more than one million in May.

Meanwhile, the number of payroll employees in December rose 0.5 per cent compared with negligible gains in November.

Employment was up 4.5 per cent compared with a year earlier, though average weekly hours declined.

Average weekly earnings were up 3.4 per cent year over year, down from year-over-year growth of four per cent in November.

Vacancies were up in the health care and social assistance sector, rising by 13.8 per cent, which more than offset a similar decrease in November.

Statistics Canada says this sector has seen job vacancies more than double since the beginning of the pandemic.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 23, 2023.