Since January, retail payrolls have fallen by 30,100 jobs (-1.5%), with building material and supplies dealers, clothing retailers, and sporting goods stores seeing the steepest declines. Similarly, accommodation and food services lost 9,100 jobs (-0.7%), driven by a drop in restaurant employment.
Professional, scientific, and technical services recorded a second straight month of declines, losing 5,700 jobs (-0.5%), with computer systems design and related services taking the biggest hit. The construction sector also experienced a setback, with payrolls falling by 5,600 (-0.5%), concentrated in heavy engineering and specialty trade contractors.
Job vacancies increased in manufacturing (+3,600) and information and cultural industries (+3,400) but declined in finance and insurance (-4,800) and administrative and support services (-3,600). Healthcare vacancies remained high at 112,900, though stable from August, maintaining the highest vacancy rate of all sectors at 4.5%, said StatCan.
Regionally, Quebec saw a drop in job vacancies (-6,500), while Prince Edward Island experienced a notable rise (+700). The national job vacancy rate edged up to 3.0%, and the ratio of unemployed individuals per vacancy dropped slightly to 2.7, reflecting a marginal decrease in unemployment.