Private sector job vacancies in Canada

Q2 2026 Update

• Job vacancy rate unchanged at 2.8%

• Small changes in vacancy rates across provinces

• This translates into 393,000 vacant positions across Canada. 

Job vacancy rates unchanged for five consecutive quarters

The private sector job vacancy rate in Canada remained virtually unchanged, at 2.8% in 2026 Q2. Vacancy rates showed little to no change quarter-over-quarter across most provinces and sectors. Year-over-year variations were minimal—under 0.8% for all provinces, sectors, and business sizes.

Small changes in vacancy rates across provinces

 Prince Edward Island (-0.7) and Nova Scotia (-0.2) experienced the largest year-over-year decreases in vacancy rates. Saskatchewan (+0.2) and New Brunswick (+0.2) were the only provinces recording yearly increases.

 Highest vacancy rates in other services and construction 

On a yearly basis, health and education (-0.5) and wholesale businesses (-0.4) saw the biggest drops in their vacancy rates. Information, arts and recreation (+0.8), professional services (+0.2) and retail (+0.2) were the only sectors posting yearly increases in vacancy rates.

Smaller businesses record the biggest yearly declines

On a yearly basis, businesses with fewer than 20 employees have shown the biggest decreases in vacancy rates, while mid-size businesses with fewer than 100 employees were recording slight increases.