Employers had fewer difficulties filling available positions compared with year earlier
Job vacancies in Canada were little changed in the fourth quarter of 2025, even as employers continued to demand higher qualifications for open roles, according to new data from Statistics Canada (StatCan).
The number of job vacancies stood at 495,100, essentially flat after three consecutive quarterly declines beginning in the first quarter of 2025. Year over year, vacancies fell 8.9% (–48,100), the smallest proportional annual decrease since the fourth quarter of 2022.
The job vacancy rate held at 2.8% for the third straight quarter, well below the record high of 5.6% reached in the second quarter of 2022.
Total labour demand – filled plus vacant positions – rose by 26,500 (+0.1%) in the quarter, as payroll employment increased by 25,700 (+0.1%).
Regionally, overall job vacancies increased in Quebec (+5,300 to 118,700) and Saskatchewan (+1,200 to 17,100) and were little changed elsewhere. On a year‑over‑year basis, the job vacancy rate declined in 34 economic regions and increased in 7, with the largest gains in Cape Breton, Mauricie, Muskoka–Kawarthas and Centre‑du‑Québec.
Canada’s labour market remains relatively stable by historical standards, but slowing hiring is hitting young jobseekers hard, with youth unemployment climbing and racialized youth facing particularly high jobless rates, according to a previous report.
Hiring conditions and unemployment
The proportion of long‑term vacancies, defined as positions with recruitment ongoing for 90 days or more, declined compared with a year earlier. Across Canada, this was 28.5% in the fourth quarter of 2025, a 4.1 percentage point decrease from the fourth quarter of 2024 (32.6%).
“This indicates that employers had fewer difficulties filling available positions compared with a year earlier,” Statistics Canada said.
The unemployment‑to‑job vacancy ratio edged down from 3.2 to 3.1, the first quarterly decline since the second quarter of 2022, while the unemployment rate slipped from 7.0% to 6.8%. For HR leaders, these indicators point to a market that remains looser than the 2021–2022 peak, but is not moving decisively in favour of employers.
Quarterly movements varied by occupational group. In the fourth quarter, vacancies increased in:
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Trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations (+3,800; +4.3%)
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Business, finance and administration occupations (+3,300; +5.0%)
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Manufacturing and utilities (+1,100; +6.3%)
They decreased in:
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Sales and service occupations (–4,100; –2.8%)
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Legislative and senior management occupations (–200; –27.8%)
Vacant positions in sales and service occupations fell to 144,500, “the lowest level of vacancies in the occupational group since the second quarter of 2016 (141,000),” StatCan said. Year over year, vacancies in this group were down 10,300 (–7.0%), led by retail salespersons and visual merchandisers, other customer and information services representatives, and food service supervisors.
In trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations, vacancies rose to 92,600, up 3,800 (+4.3%) from the previous quarter. StatCan noted this was “the first increase in vacancies for this occupational group since the second quarter of 2022.” On a year‑over‑year basis, vacancies were still down 7.4% (–7,000).
Health occupations recorded the largest annual decline. “There were 66,400 vacant positions in health occupations in the fourth quarter of 2025, little changed from the third quarter of 2025,” Statistics Canada reported. “On a year-over-year basis, vacancies in health occupations were down by 13,100 (–16.4%) in the fourth quarter, the largest year-over-year decline among occupational groups.” Declines were concentrated in Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba.
According to the Q2 2026 ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey, employers across Canada reported a seasonally adjusted Net Employment Outlook (NEO) of 24%. ManpowerGroup defines the NEO as “the difference between the percentage of employers planning to increase staff and those planning to reduce staff.”
Wages, education and experience requirements
On compensation, the average offered hourly wage for vacant positions was up by $0.95 (+3.4%) to $29.25 in the fourth quarter of 2025, following a 3.3% increase in the previous quarter, StatCan said. Over the same period, “the average hourly wage for all employees… was up by 3.5%.” For HR professionals, this alignment suggests employers are broadly keeping hiring wages in step with overall pay growth.
Vacancies decreased year over year for all education levels, with the largest numerical drop in roles requiring a high school diploma or less (–15,200; –6.1%). Vacancies requiring a trade certificate or diploma fell by 9,600 (–13.4%), and the unemployment‑to‑vacancy ratio for this group rose from 1.4 to 2.0, the largest increase among all education levels.
At the same time, requirements continued to rise. “In the fourth quarter of 2025, the proportion of vacant positions requiring five or more years of experience recorded a record high (12.9%),” Statistics Canada reported. “Meanwhile, the proportion that required a bachelor's degree or higher (16.9%) was just below the record high of 17.7% reached in the first quarter of 2025.”
