So while there were around 919,000 jobs available last year, this figure rose to almost 960,000 last summer.

Overall, vacancies in Canada were 5.4%, almost the same as last August (5.5%).

However, Statistics Canada reports some volatility, particularly in accommodation and food services, with 30,000 fewer jobs between August 2021 and last August.

And on the retail side, job openings increased by 20,200 year over year, up 20.4%, for a total of 119,300 job openings. This increase offset the 13,400 recruitments recorded in this economic sector last July compared to a year earlier.

Another notable trend is that there are now 152,000 non-worker jobs in the health and social care sector, a 19.4% increase from August 2021.

Labor shortages in the health and social services sectors prompted many hospitals to announce temporary cuts in certain services in July and August, including the temporary closure of some emergency roomsmentions Statistics Canada.

More unemployed

While the number of vacancies remains relatively stable, the number of job seekers continues to grow.

In August there were 168,100 more unemployed, an increase of 15.4% compared to July. Therefore, Statistics Canada writes, For every vacancy there was 1.3 unemployed in August, compared to 1.1 in July and 1.8 in August 2021.

Additionally, the rise in unemployment in Quebec (36,700 more jobseekers) and British Columbia (16,800 more jobseekers) in August means there are now as many jobseekers in those two provinces as there are jobs available, the briefing note reads.