Ontario Construction News staff writer
The number of job vacancies is at record levels and continuing to climb in Ontario and across the country.
According to a new report from Statistics Canada, employers across all sectors and regions were actively looking to fill nearly one million โ 997,000 โ vacant positions in August – the highest quarterly number on record.
Employers continued to face significant hiring challenges during the second quarter, withย 44ย newly hired employees for everyย 100ย vacancies. In comparison, there wereย 113ย new hires for everyย 100ย vacancies in the second quarter ofย 2016.
Sectors where the ratio of new hires to vacancies was low in the second quarter ofย 2022ย included health care and social assistance; accommodation and food services; and construction.
Vacancies in the second quarter were upย 4.7% (+45,000) from the first quarter, andย 42.3% (+296,500) higher than in the second quarter ofย 2021.
The report also shows the job vacancy rate wasย 5.7% in the second quarter, an all-time high. Since the first quarter ofย 2020, growth in labour demand (+4.2%) has exceeded growth in payroll employment (+1.7%), resulting in record high job vacancies.
Also, average hourly wages offered to new employees increasedย 5.3% to $24.05ย in the second quarter on a year-over-year basis. Over the same period, the average hourly wages of all employees roseย 4.1%.
In construction, offered wages were up 5.2% to $27.30.
The number of job vacancies reported in the second quarter in retail trade (112,700), manufacturing (85,900) and construction (82,900) remained consistent with record highs of the previous quarter.