The number of Canadian job vacancies fell by 69,900 in the third quarter to a total of 703,300, Statistics Canada reported today. This is the fifth straight quarterly decline.

The national job vacancy rate — which corresponds to the number of vacated positions as a proportion of total labor demand — fell to 3.9% in the third quarter from 4.35 in the second quarter. Statistics Canada noted this was the fifth consecutive decline and the lowest rate since the first quarter of 2021, when it was 3.8%.

Among the broad occupational groups, job vacancies in sales and service occupations fell by 14.3% to 206,500, accounting for 29.2% of the total decrease in vacancies in the third quarter. Statistics Canada reported this is the largest quarterly decline of any broad occupational group for the fifth quarter in a row.

Meanwhile, job vacancies declined by 6.5% in trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations and by 9.4% in business, finance and administration occupations.

Job vacancies declined in 26 of 69 economic regions in the third quarter. The largest decrease was recorded in Mauricie, Quebec, at 30.4%. Conversely, Southeast Manitoba was the only economic region to report an increase of 23.7% in vacant positions.