Job Vacancies on the Rise in Most Canadian Provinces

Job Vacancies on the Rise in Most Canadian Provinces

According to Statistic Canada the first quarter of 2018 witnessed a rise in job vacancies in eight Canadian provinces and Canada’s three territories with Quebec and British Colombia heading the list.

Quebec is on top with 25,000 more job vacancies in the first quarter of 2018 compared to 2017. This number is estimated to reach one million by 2024 and immigration has a major role to play in filling this gap reports Quebec Liberal government.

The current job vacancies are mostly in Quebec’s Manufacturing and, Accommodation and Food Services industrial sectors.

Nonetheless, the unemployment rate in Quebec dropped from 6.2% to 5.5% in the first quarter of 2018 in relation to 2017.

The rise in job vacancies in British Colombia is considerably similar to Quebec’s with 24,000 job vacancies in the first three months of 2018. This is nearly 36% more vacancies compared to the same period in 2017.

These vacancies are concentrated in the Lower Mainland-Southwest region of the province which includes Vancouver. The largest increase was in trades, equipment operators as well as sales and service occupations.

Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, reported an increase of 5.7% in job vacancies in the first quarter of 2018 compared to 2017 with total of 9800 job vacancies. Ottawa and Kitchener-Waterloo-Barrie recorded the highest increase.

Alberta and Manitoba both saw an increase in job vacancies in the Health Care and Social Assistance sector. Additionally, Alberta had an increase in the Construction (mining, quarrying as well as oil and gas extraction) and Administrative and Support Services sector.

Alberta reported an increase in job vacancies of 18.5% (7500 jobs) in the first quarter of 2018 compared to the previous year whereas Manitoba saw an increase of 26.4% (2,800 jobs) over the same period.

9 of the 10 largest industrial sectors in Canada show an increase in job vacancies;

  • Health Care and Social Assistance
  • Transportation and Warehousing
  • Manufacturing
  • Accommodation and Food Services
  • Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
  • Wholesale Trade
  • Administrative and Support Services
  • Construction
  • Educational Services

The Retail Trade sector is the only industrial sector that did not have an increase in the first quarter of 2018 compared to the previous year.

Statistic Canada also reported, in relation to wider categories, an increase of 9,030 job vacancies in Business, Finance and Administration category, and 8,080 in the Natural and Applied Sciences category in the first quarter of 2018 compared to 2017.

For more information about recent job vacancies in the industrial sectors, please visit