Weekly wages are up 2.5% on average
The retail trade sector had the largest increase in weekly wages for May despite the general loss of employment, with a 9.3% increase over the same period in 2021. Professional, technical, and scientific service wages have also increased by 8.1%. On the other hand, average weekly wages fell the most in the arts, entertainment, and leisure sector by 9.7%.
In comparison to April’s data, the average weekly wage for workers increased by 2.5%. This is probably due to rising pay or changes to the working environment. The report’s findings show that the higher average, which was found to be 1.5% higher than before COVID-19, was not due to additional hours worked.
The overall annual growth trend is also shown by these statistics. The most significant growth, 7.4%, was recorded in New Brunswick when comparing May 2021 to May 2020. With a 5.9% yearly increase, Newfoundland and Labrador came in second place. In addition, each year saw a rise in average earnings in seven more Canadian provinces.
Healthcare job vacancies continue to rise
In May, Canada’s unemployment rate reached a then-record low of 5.1% (it fell further to 4.9% in June). According to the report, the number of job openings in the health care and social services sectors has significantly increased to 143,000, which is equivalent to 6.1%. This is a considerable increase over the April vacancy rate of 5.4% and a 20% increase over the May 2021 vacancy rate.
There were 161,000 job vacancies in the accommodation and food services industry in both Manitoba and Nova Scotia in May. Both of these provinces had employment vacancy rates of more than 10%. For the thirteenth month in a row, the most job openings in Nova Scotia and Manitoba were in the accommodation and food services sectors.
Job vacancies outnumber unemployment
Canada has over a million vacant positions. This is equal to April statistics, but has increased by nearly 300,000 since May 2021. The combination of a high job vacancy rate and a low unemployment rate, as reported by the Labor Force Survey for May 2022, indicates a developing labor shortage in various sectors and an increasing need for immigration in Canada as its workforce approaches retirement age. In 2022, Canada plans to invite nearly 430,000 permanent residents, the biggest number ever. This target will increase to more than 450,000 by 2024.
