Canadian Employment Declines in March

On Thursday, Statistics Canada (StatCan) reported that payroll employment—the number of employees receiving pay and benefits from their employer, as measured by the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours—fell by 0.3% (54,100 jobs) in March. This followed a 0.2% decline (40,200 jobs) in February. Compared with a year earlier, payroll employment in March was up 0.2% (32,800 jobs).

Payroll employment decreased in 10 of the 20 sectors in March, including:

• Educational services: down 0.7% (10,400 jobs)
• Health care and social assistance: down 0.4% (9,500 jobs)
• Accommodation and food services: down 0.7% (8,400 jobs)
• Retail trade: down 0.4% (8,400 jobs)
• Wholesale trade: down 0.5% (4,200 jobs)
• Construction: down 0.3% (4,000 jobs)

These declines were partially offset by gains in a few sectors:

• Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas: up 1.1% (2,500 jobs)
• Arts, entertainment and recreation: up 0.5% (1,800 jobs)
• Management of companies and enterprises: up 0.7% (900 jobs)

The remaining seven sectors saw little change.

Meanwhile, job vacancies held steady at 529,700 in March, marking the seventh consecutive month of little change. Compared to March 2024, vacancies were down 12.1% (72,800 jobs).