Statistics Canada tracking indicates more than 40,000 employment vacancies in the construction sector.
Change in payroll employment in April by sector. (Source: Statistics Canada: Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (2612), table 14-10-0220-01.)
The gains were not large, but the number of employees receiving pay and benefits from their employer, known as “payroll employment,” in Canada’s construction sector was in positive territory in the latest Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours from Statistics Canada. Overall, there were 796 more workers in the sector in April, a month where the total level of employment in the country was little changed.
On a year-over-year basis, payroll employment across all sectors was up 30,400 for the month, or 0.2 per cent, although construction did not contribute to those gains. The sector was one of 11 to post annualized declines in the report. The sector reported in with 6,600 fewer workers than the industry supported in April of 2024, a drop of almost 14 per cent.
Nationally across all sectors, the job market tightened up with job vacancies decreasing by 3.2 per cent, or 16,800 positions, to land at 501,300 for April of this past year. This was on the heels of nine consecutive months with little change. On a year-over-year basis, job vacancies were down by 91,400 openings, a drop of 15.4 per cent. The national vacancy rate was 2.8 per cent in April.
Despite the challenging market, Canada’s construction sector was still presenting a high level of openings for workers in April, checking in with 41,100 job vacancies and a vacancy rate of 3.4 per cent.