Vacancy declines were widespread, with decreases in 20 of 69 economic regions. Job vacancies decreased in Ontario (-16,500 to 184,400), Quebec (-5,900 to 121,300), Saskatchewan (-1,900 to 17,900), Manitoba (-1,100 to 21,200), Nova Scotia (-1,000 to 14,600), Newfoundland and Labrador (-500 to 5,300), the Northwest Territories (-300 to 1,100), and Yukon (-200 to 800). Job vacancies held steady in the other provinces and in Nunavut.
Ontario saw the most significant drop, particularly in:
- Toronto (-5,900)
- Kitchener–Waterloo–Barrie (-3,800)
- Hamilton–Niagara (-2,900).
Positions requiring a high school diploma or less faced the largest declines (-28.7% year-over-year), says Statistics Canada, particularly in sales and service roles.
Occupational groups facing declines
In the third quarter, job vacancies decreased by 6,900 (-6.6%) to 98,400 in trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations. This was the ninth consecutive quarterly decline since the record high (195,000) reached in the second quarter of 2022.
On a year-over-year basis, the number of vacant positions in trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations was down by 43,100 (-28.5%) in the third quarter of 2024, says the report. The largest decreases were recorded for transport truck drivers (-7,000 to 13,200), construction trades helpers and labourers (-6,000 to 12,300), carpenters (-4,400 to 4,600), and automotive service technicians, truck and bus mechanics and mechanical repairers (-3,300 to 6,300) (not seasonally adjusted).