Canadian job vacancies hold at 510,200 in second quarter

Canadian employers reported 510,200 job vacancies in the second quarter of 2026, little changed from the previous quarter or a year earlier, Statistics Canada says.

The vacancy rate remained at 2.8%. There were three unemployed people for every vacant position, unchanged from the first quarter and slightly below the 3.1 ratio recorded a year earlier.

Science and trades vacancies rise

Vacancies in natural and applied sciences rose 4.5% from the previous quarter to 42,300. Trades, transport and equipment occupations had 98,600 vacancies, up 6.6% from a year earlier.

The average hourly wage offered for vacant positions was $28.55, up 2% year over year. That growth has slowed from a 7.6% peak in the third quarter of 2024. Long-term vacancies open for at least 90 days accounted for 25.9% of vacancies, the lowest share since the second quarter of 2021.

Québec’s Laurentides region recorded the largest year-over-year increase among economic regions, adding 1,400 vacancies, or 22.2%.

Source: Statistics Canada, Job vacancies, second quarter 2026, released September 15, 2026.