Private sector job vacancies in Canada

Q1 2026 Update

• Job vacancy rate unchanged at 2.8%

• No quarterly or yearly change in the rate

• This translates into 391,300 vacant positions across Canada. 

Job vacancy rates unchanged for five consecutive quarters

The private sector job vacancy rate in Canada remained unchanged at 2.8% in 2026 Q1, marking the fifth consecutive quarter at this level. Vacancy rates showed little to no change quarter-over-quarter across most provinces and sectors. Year-over-year variations were minimal—under 0.5% for all provinces, sectors, and business sizes, except for businesses employing 5 to 19 workers (-0.7).

Limited changes in vacancy rates across provinces

Most provinces recorded slight year-over-year declines in vacancy rates. Saskatchewan (+0.3), Quebec (+0.2), New Brunswick (+0.1), and Newfoundland and Labrador (+0.1) were the only provinces to post increases, and these gains remained modest.

 Little changes in vacancy rates across sectors

 Mirroring provincial trends, most industries experienced year-over-year stagnation or decline in vacancy rates. Only information, arts and recreation (+0.5), retail (+0.3), finance, insurance, and real estate (+0.1), and transportation (+0.1) registered annual increases.

Smaller businesses continue to report higher vacancy rates 

 On a yearly basis, businesses with 49 employees or less saw slight declines in vacancy rates, while those with 50 employees or more recorded small increases .