BC continues to have second highest private sector job vacancy rate in Canada
Toronto, February 25, 2019 – The national job vacancy rate eased slightly to 3.1 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2018, down 0.1 per cent since the previous quarter, according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB)’s Help Wanted report. In total, 409,000 private sector jobs sat vacant for at least three months, nearly 41,000 more than a year ago.
“This is the first decline in vacancy rates we’ve seen since Q2 2016 but the market is still quite tight despite it,” said Ted Mallett, CFIB’s vice president and chief economist. “The situation in Quebec and British Columbia in particular hasn’t changed. Both provinces have vacancy rates well above the national average.”
Vacancies continued to put pressure on wage levels, but to a lesser degree than in previous quarters. Employers with at least one vacant post expected to increase average organization-wide wage levels by 2.3 per cent, compared to 1.6 per cent for employers with no job openings.
Results by province
Quebec continued to experience the highest vacancy rate at 3.9 per cent, followed by British Columbia at 3.5 per cent. Ontario’s vacancy rate was unchanged at 3.1 per cent. Manitoba (2.4 per cent), Alberta (2.3 per cent), Nova Scotia (2.2 per cent) and Newfoundland & Labrador (1.5 per cent) each experienced a decline in vacancy rates. New Brunswick (2.7 per cent), Saskatchewan (1.9 per cent) and Prince Edward Island (1.8 per cent) did not experience a change this quarter and maintained vacancy rates below the national average.
