Canadian employers reported 460,000 job vacancies in the second quarter, Statistics Canada reported today. The number of job vacancies rose by 67,000, up 17.2%, from the second quarter of 2016; it was the third consecutive year-over-year increase in both the number of vacancies and the job vacancy rate.

The job vacancy rate — a measure of job openings compared with total employment — rose 0.4 percentage point year over year to 2.9%.

Nationally, the number of job vacancies increased in all of the 10 broad occupational groups on a year-over-year basis. The largest increases in job vacancies were in sales and service, up by 166,000, followed by trades, transport and equipment operators, up by 73,000.

Nationally, the average offered hourly wage for job vacancies was C$19.50 in the second quarter.