The number of Canadian job vacancies fell by 6.6% or 55,500 in the second quarter to a total of 780,200, Statistics Canada reported Sept. 19. The national job vacancy rate declined by 0.3 of a percentage point to 4.4% in the second quarter.

Job vacancies decreased more for permanent positions at 23.1% than for temporary positions, which fell by 11.4%. In addition, job vacancies fell more for full-time positions than for part-time positions in the second quarter, which fell by 21.9% and 19.4%, respectively.

Among the broad occupational groups, sales and service occupations fell by 11.1%, accounting for over 54.7% of the total decrease in vacancies across all occupations. On the other hand, job vacancies in health occupations in the second quarter rose 9.5% from the second quarter of 2022. Health occupations was the only broad occupational group to report a year-over-year rise in job vacancies in the second quarter.

Job vacancies declined in 27 of 69 economic regions in the second quarter. The largest decrease was in London, Ontario, at 35.4%.  Meanwhile, job vacancies were up in five economic regions, led by Cariboo, British Columbia, and Outaouais, Quebec.