Job vacancies plummet to lowest point since 2017: StatCan
Global News
New data from Statistics Canada suggests there may be more people looking for work than there are jobs available as many businesses report not feeling a need to hire more.
There are fewer vacant jobs available for Canadians to fill now than there have been since 2017, according to new government data.
Statistics Canada reported on Thursday that the number of job vacancies in August fell to 457,400 — the lowest level since August 2017.
That’s a drop of 15.2 per cent in August 2025 compared to a year prior, with a drop of 82,100 available jobs.
The job vacancy rate is defined by Statistics Canada as “the number of vacant positions as a proportion of total labour demand.”
A job vacancy usually means a paid position that is open or about to become open for people to apply to, and where the employer is actively seeking someone to hire for those roles from outside their organization.
Statistics Canada also said there were 3.5 unemployed persons for every job vacancy in August, which was up from 3.3 in July and 0.7 per cent higher compared to August 2024.
The agency adds the ratio of unemployed individuals compared to available positions is the highest since November 2016 (excluding April to September 2020, which was during the COVID-19 pandemic).
Separate data shows the unemployment rate for August was 7.1 per cent compared to a year prior, which was up from 6.9 per cent in July, and September showed the same figure.
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