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Job vacancies improve for the first time in 4 years
Editorial by Christian Saint Cyr
National Director / Canadian Job Development Network
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In the spring of 2022, Canada reached a pinnacle in the number of unfilled jobs, topping 1 million job vacancies across the country. In many parts of the country, there were more jobs than there were job seekers. In fact, in British Columbia and Quebec, we actually got down to 8 job seekers for every 10 available jobs.
Of course, the unspoken reality is that there is a great mismatch between the jobs available and the workers wanting those jobs.
While most provinces might have had thousands of jobs going unfilled for nurses, there were still thousands of people applying for jobs as restaurant servers, cashiers and as warehouse workers.
Nevertheless, 2022 was the closest thing we've seen in decades to a genuine labour shortage, where employers were really motivated to open their minds to candidates they might not have otherwise considered.
Fast forward to the year 2026 and we've seen the number of available jobs continually slide each year. And just as it seems the slide is about to go over the edge of a cliff, with a U.S. war in Iran driving up the cost of fuel, the Canada US Mexico trade agreement facing cancelation and the Bank of Canada informing us the country is now in a technical recession, a glimmer of hope.
Canada’s labour market showed signs of renewed momentum in the first quarter of 2026, with job vacancies increasing for the first time in nearly four years.
Statistics Canada reported 506,700 vacant positions nationwide in the first quarter of 2026, an increase of 11,800 jobs or 2.4 per cent compared to the previous quarter. It marked the first quarterly increase in vacancies since the second quarter of 2022.
Although vacancies remain lower than a year ago, the pace of decline has slowed significantly, suggesting the labour market may be stabilizing after two years of cooling demand.
As we begin to examine the increase in these jobs, we see growth in some surprising areas. The strongest gains were concentrated in occupations requiring high school education, practical skills or trade experience.
These occupation groups include:
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Material handlers +3,720 additional job vacancies
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Store shelf stockers, clerks and order fillers +2,090
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Transport truck drivers +1,530
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Food counter attendants and kitchen helpers +1,500
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Cashiers +910
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Automotive service technicians and mechanics +845
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Retail and wholesale trade managers +645
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Transit operators and bus drivers +615
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Manufacturing and utility labourers +565
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Restaurant and food service managers +555
Demand also remained strong for transport truck drivers, with more than 13,000 vacant positions nationally.
Truck driving continues to be one of Canada’s most persistent labour shortages and remains a key target occupation under several Provincial Nominee Programs and employer-driven work permit streams.
If you had asked me at the beginning of the year, what is the most telling trend in the decline of job vacancies in Canada, I would have said we're seeing a continually growing number of unfilled jobs in high-skill, high-education occupations while entry-level jobs continue to get larger and larger numbers of applicants.
This report, shows an increasing number of people-centered jobs while jobs in technology and other process-driven occupations declining.
Health care and social assistance added 8,500 payroll employees (+0.3 per cent) in April, extending cumulative growth of 49,700 (plus two per cent) since September 2025.
That sustained expansion reached across 14 of 18 sub-industries, led by general medical and surgical hospitals, child day-care services and community care facilities for the elderly.
The most urgent signal sits in professional, scientific and technical services, where payroll employment fell 8,800 (-0.7 per cent) in April, extending a cumulative loss of 9,500 (-0.8 per cent) since February 2026. Computer systems design and related services accounted for 80.6 per cent of that sector-wide decline, shedding 7,600 employees (minus two per cent) over the period. Prior to February 2026, the sector had recorded little net variation for six months.
The sector most impacted by trade, tariffs and economic uncertainty is also continuing to decline in job opportunities.
Manufacturing shed 3,400 payroll employees (-0.2 per cent) in April and was down 15,500 (minus one per cent) year-over-year, led by declines in transportation equipment and food manufacturing.
Construction fell for a third consecutive month (-2,600; -0.2 per cent), bringing cumulative losses since February 2026 to 9,500 (-0.8 per cent) — though the sector remained up 10,800 (+0.9 per cent) year-over-year, according to StatCan.
Meanwhile jobs in sales and service, those people-centered occupations, is seeing a resurgence. Vacancies in the sector rose by 8,400 positions to reach 153,000. This was the first quarterly increase for sales and service jobs since late 2021.
While much of Canada continues to see limited growth in job vacancies, the provinces which experienced the greatest increase in job vacancies in early 2026 include: Ontario with 8,800 additional vacancies; British Columbia with 4,100 additional vacancies; and Alberta with 2,900 additional vacancies.
It would seem that employers are now looking at wage increases not simply as a way of battling inflation but also as a tool for attracting new talent. The average offered hourly wage for vacant positions reached $29.55 in the first quarter of 2026, up 2.2 per cent from a year earlier.
With these new insights into job vacancies, what can we learn about the current state of the labour market?
Clearly, we're seeing that while AI is a powerful tool, it is not a universal tool. People continue to be an important part of this equation.
According to an Express Employment Professionals-Harris Poll survey released last week, while nearly two-thirds (63%) of hiring managers say their companies already use AI, 82% say AI will never replace the need for actual employees at their company, and 89% say their company is committed to preserving a human element in the workplace.
As to why we're seeing gains concentrated in occupations requiring high school education, practical skills or trade experience, I believe this is due to our increasingly restrictive immigration policies.
Policies implemented in 2024 take two years to be felt. When Canada began to implement these restrictions, we already had an enormous number of international students, temporary foreign workers who were already here and permanent residents who'd recently entered the country.
We're now experiencing the first signs of a growing labour shortage and just like it takes two years for the restrictions to take root, it would also take years for any proactive solutions to get into place.
With the proviso that our economics are uncertain, provided we don't see a complete economic collapse, this is going to be a great period for job development.
Just as they did in the Spring of 2022, it takes a genuine shortage of workers for employers to take their eyes off of the easy solutions and really consider employees they may not have previously considered.
While it's always a great opportunity to follow-up with existing and new employers, use this opportunity to get the word out on the benefits of inclusive hiring. This can be in the form of social media campaigns, business community presentations and success stories.
I've often said that job developers are as much as sales managers as they are sales people. Use this opportunity to grow in the 'sales manager role' and rally the clients and the students you support to not only achieve greater employment opportunities but also see greater value in their own contribution.
We’ll be discussing insights from the latest job vacancy report at our #MotivatingMondays meeting of the Canadian Job Development Network, Monday June 29th at 8:30am Pacific; 9:30am Mountain; 10:30am Central; 11:30am Eastern; 12:30pm Atlantic and at 1pm in Newfoundland.
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On the morning of Monday June 29th 'Click this Link' to join the session.
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'Developing a Comprehensive Approach to Effective Job Development'
September 2026
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We've opened registration for this year's job development training: 'Developing a Comprehensive Approach to Effective Job Development' which is taking place online on five (5) separate days, for five separate time zones:
Mon. Sep. 21st (Pacific)
Tues. Sep. 22nd (Mountain)
Wed. Sep. 23rd (Central)
Thurs. Sep. 24th (Eastern)
Fri. Sep. 25th (Atlantic)
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Up until July 16th, 2026, everyone who registers will benefit from a 35% discount on registration.
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To learn more, please visit:
www.JobDevelopment.org/pro-d
or send me an email at:
csaintcyr@labourmarketsolutions.ca
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