Canada’s Job Vacancies Fall to Lowest Level Since 2017, Labour Market Weakens

Job openings across Canada fell 2.4% in August compared to July, reaching 457,400 — the lowest number of vacancies recorded since August 2017, according to new data released by Statistics Canada.
(The April–September 2020 period is excluded due to unavailable data during the pandemic.)

On a year-over-year basis, job vacancies declined by 15.2%, highlighting a continued softening in the Canadian labour market.

The job vacancy rate — representing vacant positions as a share of total labour demand — remained steady at 2.6% in August, unchanged from July. A year earlier, in August 2024, the rate stood at 3.0%, marking a gradual easing of hiring demand.

The report also showed there were 3.5 unemployed persons for every job vacancy in August, the highest unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio since November 2016 (again excluding the 2020 data gap period).

Economists say the decline in openings suggests slower business activity and cautious hiring, possibly influenced by automation, productivity shifts, and ongoing layoffs in certain sectors.
With job competition intensifying, wage growth is expected to remain subdued heading into late 2025.

For Canadian households, this trend reinforces the importance of diversified income sources — particularly through long-term, professionally managed investments — to weather labour market uncertainty and maintain financial resilience.

Source

• Statistics Canada – Job Vacancies Report, August 2025