Public access to a report on employment, wages, hours, and job openings for May 2022 has been made possible by Canada’s monthly payroll data.
According to the research’s findings, for the first time since May 2021, fewer employees in Canada are receiving money or perks from their companies.
As of last May, 26,000 positions were no longer on the payroll, according to the poll, which was created using information from the Survey of Employment, Payrolls, and Hours.
The biggest declines were noted in Manitoba and Ontario, where there were 2,500 and 30,000 job opportunities, respectively. Only one province, British Columbia, saw an increase in payroll workers.
Payroll staff decreases are prevalent in most industries
Recent economic data showed that the service sector, including employment in fields like education, healthcare, and social support, experienced some steepest drops. According to the reports, this led to the loss of around 17,000 payroll employees.
In addition, employment in the construction sector as a whole fell significantly. Nearly 17,500 fewer people were employed in May, the fewest since July 2021.
Nearly two-thirds of the construction jobs that were lost were lost in Ontario. Most of this loss can be attributed to strikes across the province and caused significant delays on many projects.
Retail employment is still higher than it was in 2021. Most jobs in the retail trade were lost in Ontario, which led the nation.
The number of retail trade payroll employees has decreased for the second consecutive month. But the total employment rate in the retail sector now is 6% higher than it was in May 2021.
Labrador, British Columbia, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, and Quebec all saw increases in retail jobs, but Ontario did not.
The professional, scientific, and technological services sector was the only one to experience an increase in each province.
This industry added over 10,000 jobs nationwide, with most of these positions in high-tech fields like computer systems design and related services.
On Average, Weekly Salaries are up 2.5%
Despite the overall decline in employment, the retail trade sector experienced the highest growth in weekly pay for May, with a 9.3% increase over the same time in 2021. Wages for technical, scientific, and professional services have also increased by 8.1%.
Conversely, the arts, entertainment, and recreation industry had a 9.7% decline in weekly average salaries.
The average weekly wage for workers grew by 2.5% in contrast to April’s figures. This is most often a result of increasing salaries or modifications to the workplace. The research results demonstrate that the higher average—which was found to be 1.5% higher than before COVID-19—was not the result of more hours put in.
These figures also display the annual growth trend as a whole. When comparing May 2021 to May 2020, New Brunswick experienced the largest gain, 7.4%.
Newfoundland and Labrador came in second with a 5.9% annual rise. In addition, average incomes increased in seven additional Canadian provinces each year.
The Number of Open Positions in Healthcare is Rising
The unemployment rate in Canada decreased further to 4.9% in June after reaching a record-low of 5.1% in May. The research states that there are now 143,000 job opportunities, or 6.1% more than there were a year ago, in the healthcare and social services industries. This represents a significant increase from the 5.4% vacancy rate in April and a 20% from May 2021.
In May, there were 161,000 open positions in the hospitality and food services sector in both Manitoba and Nova Scotia. These two provinces both have more than 10% unemployment rates. The lodging and food services industries had the most job opportunities in Nova Scotia and Manitoba for the thirteenth consecutive month.
Job Openings Outnumber Unemployment
Over a million jobs are open in Canada. Although it has climbed by approximately 300,000 since May 2021, this is equal to April data.
According to the May 2022 Labor Force Survey, a high job vacancy and a low unemployment rate point to a growing labor shortage in several industries and an increasing need for immigration to Canada as the country’s population ages.
For the first time, Canada intends to welcome over 430,000 permanent citizens in 2022. By 2024, this goal will rise to more than 450,000.
