“While job opportunities have been down nationwide since mid-2022, growth compared to pre-pandemic levels has been mixed across regions, showing two main patterns,” said Brendon Bernard, senior economist at the Indeed Hiring Lab.
“First, job vacancy rates in the Prairies are up, overtaking Ontario, Quebec, and most of Atlantic Canada, where they are down. Second, job postings on Indeed remain elevated in smaller cities and non-urban areas, while medium and larger metro areas are mixed, with substantial declines in several Ontario cities, Vancouver, and Montreal.”
Hiring appetite in the Prairies and Nova Scotia have exceeded other provinces, with job vacancies exceeding the national average, according to data from Indeed.
Source: Indeed
Overall, there has been an increase in job postings in less-populated areas compared with decreases in the bigger metropolitan areas.
“On average, the smaller the size of the labour market, the stronger job postings are compared to pre-pandemic levels,” says Bernard.