Payroll employment, earnings and hours, and job vacancies, December 2023
Released: 2024-02-28
$1,211.79
December 2023
3.8% 
(12-month change)
$1,229.55
December 2023
4.8%
(12-month change)
$1,022.91
December 2023
4.3%
(12-month change)
$1,084.13
December 2023
5.0%
(12-month change)
$1,116.94
December 2023
3.8%
(12-month change)
$1,167.10
December 2023
3.8%
(12-month change)
$1,238.15
December 2023
4.3%
(12-month change)
$1,115.59
December 2023
3.2%
(12-month change)
$1,170.89
December 2023
2.9%
(12-month change)
$1,291.41
December 2023
1.9%
(12-month change)
$1,230.39
December 2023
6.7%
(12-month change)
$1,399.89
December 2023
4.1%
(12-month change)
$1,618.89
December 2023
-3.0% 
(12-month change)
$1,638.89
December 2023
3.0%
(12-month change)
The number of employees receiving pay and benefits from their employer—measured as "payroll employment" in the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours—increased by 31,600 (+0.2%) in December. On a year-over-year basis, payroll employment was up by 223,500 (+1.3%) in December 2023.
Chart 1
Payroll employment increases in December, reflecting the end of the strike in Quebec public sector
In December, payroll employment in elementary and secondary schools increased by 56,800 (+7.2%), following a decline of 61,400 (-7.3%) in November. The decline in November was largely associated with the Quebec public sector strike action and was expected to be temporary (see the "Public sector strike action in Quebec in November" box). Excluding the monthly gain in this industry, national payroll employment fell by 25,200 (-0.1%) in December.
Chart 2
Monthly payroll employment increase led by educational services
Meanwhile, the number of job vacancies held steady at 637,400 in December, the third consecutive month of little change. Job vacancies were down by 209,200 (-24.7%) compared with December 2022, and down by 365,900 (-36.5%) from the record high of 1,003,200 reached in May 2022.
In addition to educational services (+51,900; +3.7%), five other sectors recorded monthly payroll employment gains in December 2023, including health care and social assistance (+8,300; +0.4%), public administration (+4,700; +0.4%) and construction (+2,700; +0.2%). These increases were partially offset by declines in four sectors: retail trade (-26,700; -1.3%); manufacturing (-3,200; -0.2%); accommodation and food services (-2,000; -0.2%) and information and cultural industries (-1,200; -0.4%). The remaining 10 sectors were little changed.
Public sector strike action in Quebec in November
In November, a number of union federations across the Quebec public sector began strike action. This included the Fédération autonome de l'enseignement, a federation of unions representing more than 66,000 teachers working in Quebec's education sector. In accordance with the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (SEPH) concepts outlined in the Guide to the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours, the definition of "payroll employment" excludes persons who are on strike for the entirety of the SEPH reference week. The reference week for SEPH estimates is the last seven days of the reference month. As a result, elementary and secondary schools recorded a decline in payroll employment in November. The majority of these changes were temporary for the month of November and were reversed in December.
Payroll employment growth continues in health care and social assistance
Payroll employment in health care and social assistance increased by 8,300 (+0.4%) in December, continuing the overall upward trend since September 2022, with a cumulative gain of 131,000 (+5.9%) over 16 months.
In December 2023, gains were recorded in 10 of the 18 industries comprising the health care and social assistance sector, led by child day-care services (+2,000; +1.1%), community care facilities for the elderly (+1,100; +0.8%) and individual and family services (+1,100; +0.6%). The remaining industries were little changed.
Payroll employment in public administration continues to increase in December
Payroll employment in public administration was up by 4,700 (+0.4%) in December, the sixth consecutive monthly increase, bringing cumulative increases since July to 33,100 (+2.6%).
The monthly increase in the sector in December reflected gains in local, municipal, and regional public administration (+5,400; +1.1%) and federal government public administration (+1,600; +0.4%). Indigenous public administration (-1,500; -2.1%) recorded a monthly decline in December but was up by 3,000 (+4.5%) year over year.
Payroll employment increases in construction for second consecutive month
In December, payroll employment in construction rose by 2,700 (+0.2%), following an increase of 1,200 (+0.1%) in November. Despite these increases, payroll employment in construction was down by 8,300 (-0.7%) in December from its peak recorded in July. On a year-over-year basis, employment in the sector was up by 8,700 (+0.7%) in December.
The specialty trade contractors subsector (+3,700; +0.5%) recorded a monthly increase in payroll employment in December, with gains being recorded in three industries within the subsector, namely building equipment contractors (+1,600; +0.5%), other specialty trade contractors (+1,200; +0.9%)—those engaged in site preparation activities and other specialized trade activities such as crane rental with operator—and foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors (+1,000; +0.8%). These gains were partially offset by declines in heavy and civil engineering construction (-1,200; -0.7%).
Payroll employment in construction of buildings, including non-residential and residential building construction, held steady in December.
Payroll employment in retail trade continues to decrease in December
In December, payroll employment in retail trade (-26,700; -1.3%) decreased, following a decline of 4,500 (-0.2%) in November.
Monthly losses in December were widespread across the retail sector, with declines in eight of the nine subsectors, led by food and beverage retailers (-9,100; -1.7%), sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument, book, and miscellaneous retailers (-7,800; -3.6%) and general merchandise retailers (-5,800; -2.2%).
Motor vehicle and parts dealers (+600; +0.3%) was the lone subsector to record a payroll employment gain in December. This subsector has trended up since May, with a cumulative gain totalling 4,600 (+2.1%) since then.
On a year-over-year basis, payroll employment in retail trade was down by 11,000 (-0.5%) in December.
Average weekly earnings decline in December
On a month-over-month basis, average weekly earnings were down 1.1% to $1,212 in December, following growth of 0.4% in November and little change in October.
On a year-over-year basis, average weekly earnings grew by 3.8% in December, following a 3.9% increase in November. Year-over-year increases in December were largest in administrative and support, waste management and remediation services (+9.0% to $1,055) and in management of companies and enterprises (+8.6% to $1,724). In general, growth in average weekly earnings can reflect a range of factors, including changes in wages, composition of employment and hours worked.
Average weekly hours worked were little changed in December, but were up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis to 33.4 hours.
Job vacancies hold steady in December
Overall job vacancies held steady at 637,400 in December, the third consecutive month of little change. Job vacancies were down by 209,200 (-24.7%) compared with December 2022, and down by 365,900 (-36.5%) from the record high of 1,003,200 reached in May 2022.
Total labour demand, which corresponds to the sum of filled and unfilled positions, declined by 0.4% in December 2023 compared with the previous month, and was little changed from December 2022.
The job vacancy rate—which corresponds to the number of vacant positions as a proportion of total labour demand—was little changed at 3.6% in December 2023, and was just above the peak observed in January 2020 (3.5%) before the COVID-19 pandemic.
There were 2.0 unemployed persons for every job vacancy in December 2023, increasing from the ratio of 1.9 recorded in each of the previous three months.
Infographic 1
Little change in job vacancies and job vacancy rate since September 2023
Job vacancies fall in one sector and rise in two sectors
Retail trade (-9,400; -13.8%) was the only sector to record a decline in job vacancies in December. In contrast, there were more vacancies in educational services (+3,800; +19.5%) and utilities (+1,000; +33.4%), and little change in the remaining 15 sectors.
Retail trade records the lowest number of vacancies since November 2019
In December, job vacancies declined by 9,400 (-13.8%) to 58,800 in retail trade, more than offsetting the increase (+7,400; +12.1%) in November. This was the lowest level of job vacancies the sector has seen since November 2019 (55,600). On a year-over-year basis, job vacancies were down by 39,900 (-40.4%) in retail trade in December 2023, the largest decline across all sectors. Over the same period, total labour demand in the sector fell by 1.6% (-34,000).
The job vacancy rate in retail trade was 2.8% in December, down 0.5 percentage points from November 2023 (3.3%), and down 1.9 percentage points from December 2022 (4.7%).
Job vacancies remain virtually unchanged in health care and social assistance
Job vacancies in health care and social assistance were little changed in December 2023 (125,900) for the fourth straight month. On a year-over-year basis, job vacancies in the sector were down by 21,000 (-14.3%) in December.
The job vacancy rate in health care and social assistance was 5.1% in December, little changed from the previous month, but down 1.0 percentage points from a year earlier.
Chart 3
Declines in the number of job vacancies since December 2022 have been broad-based
Job vacancies fall in Ontario and Quebec
In Ontario, the number of vacant positions decreased by 13,400 (-5.6%) to 224,200 in December, partially offsetting the increase observed in the previous month (+21,500; +10.0%). Job vacancies also fell in Quebec (-10,700; -7.2%) to 138,100 in December.
Meanwhile, job vacancies were up in Nova Scotia (+2,800 to 16,300) and Prince Edward Island (+900 to 2,800), while they were little changed in the remaining provinces.
On a year-over-year basis, the job vacancy rate declined in nine provinces in December, including the two provinces with the highest rates in December 2022: British Columbia, where the job vacancy rate fell from 5.2% in December 2022 to 4.2% in December 2023, and Quebec, where it fell from 5.2% to 3.5% over the same period. In Newfoundland and Labrador, the job vacancy rate was little changed on a year-over-year basis in December, remaining the lowest among the provinces at 3.1%.
British Columbia and Saskatchewan had the highest job vacancy rate in December 2023, each at 4.2%.
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Sustainable Development Goals
On January 1, 2016, the world officially began implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development—the United Nations' transformative plan of action that addresses urgent global challenges over the next 15 years. The plan is based on 17 specific sustainable development goals.
The Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours is an example of how Statistics Canada supports the reporting on the Global Goals for Sustainable Development. This release will be used in helping to measure the following goals:
Note to readers
Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours
The key objective of the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (SEPH) is to provide a monthly portrait of the level of earnings, employment and hours worked, by detailed industry, at the national, provincial and territorial levels.
Payroll employment, as measured by the SEPH, refers to the number of employees receiving pay and benefits (employment income) during a given month. The survey excludes the self-employed, owners and partners of unincorporated businesses and professional practices, and employees in the agricultural sector.
SEPH estimates are produced by integrating information from three sources: a census of approximately 1 million payroll deduction records provided by the Canada Revenue Agency; the Business Payrolls Survey, which collects data from a sample of 15,000 establishments; and administrative records of federal, provincial and territorial public administration employment, provided by these levels of government.
Estimates of average weekly earnings and hours worked are based on a sample and are therefore subject to sampling variability. This analysis focuses on differences between estimates that are statistically significant at the 68% confidence level. Payroll employment estimates are based on a census of administrative records and are not subject to sampling variability.
With each release of SEPH data, data for the preceding month are revised. Users are encouraged to use the most up-to-date data available for each month.
Statistics Canada also produces employment estimates from its Labour Force Survey (LFS). The LFS is a monthly household survey, the main objective of which is to divide the working-age population into three mutually exclusive groups: the employed (including the self-employed), the unemployed and those not in the labour force. This survey is the official source for the unemployment rate, and it collects data on the sociodemographic characteristics of all those in the labour market.
As a result of conceptual and methodological differences, estimates of changes from the SEPH and the LFS differ occasionally. However, the trends in the data are similar. For a more in-depth discussion of the conceptual differences between employment measures from the LFS and the SEPH, refer to Section 8 of the Guide to the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (72-203-G).
Unless otherwise stated, this release presents seasonally adjusted data, which facilitate comparisons because the effects of seasonal variations are removed. For more information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questions.
Non-farm payroll employment data are for all hourly and salaried employees and for the "other employees" category, which includes piece-rate and commission-only employees.
Unless otherwise specified, average weekly hours data are for hourly and salaried employees only and exclude businesses that could not be classified to a North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code.
All earnings data include overtime and exclude businesses that could not be classified to a NAICS code. Earnings data are based on gross taxable payroll before source deductions. Average weekly earnings are derived by dividing total weekly earnings by the number of employees.
Job Vacancy and Wage Survey
Job Vacancy and Wage Survey (JVWS) collection is done on a quarterly basis. The quarterly sample of business locations is allocated to the three collection months of the quarter, approximately balanced by province and by industrial sector across each of the three months. This allows both quarterly and monthly estimates to be produced.
Preliminary monthly estimates are produced for job vacancies, job vacancy rates and payroll employment using available responses from business locations sampled in the corresponding reference month. The reference period for the JVWS is the first day of the respective month.
These preliminary monthly estimates are revised and finalized when the corresponding quarterly estimates are released or shortly thereafter. Users are encouraged to use the most up-to-date data available for each month.
Unless otherwise stated, this release presents seasonally adjusted data, which facilitate comparisons because the effects of seasonal variations are removed. For more information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questions.
While JVWS employment is calibrated to the SEPH, SEPH payroll employment and JVWS preliminary monthly employment figures may differ because of calibration grouping and differences in scope and reference period.
The JVWS also provides comprehensive quarterly data on job vacancies by industrial sector and detailed occupation for Canada and the provinces, territories and economic regions; offered hourly wages; and job vacancy characteristics. More information about the concepts and use of data from the JVWS is available in the Guide to the Job Vacancy and Wage Survey (75-514-G).
Real-time data tables
Tables 14-10-0357-01 and 14-10-0358-01 have now been archived.
Real-time data tables 14-10-0331-01 and 14-10-0332-01 will be updated on March 18, 2024.
Next release
January 2024 data for SEPH and JVWS will be released on March 28, 2024. Fourth quarter (October to December) of 2023 JVWS results, which will provide insights into job vacancies by subsector, vacancies by occupation and offered wages, will be released on March 19, 2024.
With the release of January 2024 data, recent and historical SEPH and JVWS monthly data will also be replaced with revised estimates. For SEPH, all seasonally adjusted and unadjusted monthly data series will be revised, starting in 2001, for a small number of industries to correct reporting or processing errors, or to align with the most recent NAICS 2022 version 1.0. Additionally, seasonally adjusted data will be revised based on the latest seasonal factors. For JVWS, all seasonally adjusted and unadjusted monthly data series, starting from April 2015, will be revised to use the latest standards, namely Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) 2021 and NAICS 2022 version 1.0. These changes will align both SEPH and JVWS data with the latest standards and improve the coherence with other labour market data.
Products
More information about the concepts and use of the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours is available in the Guide to the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (72-203-G).
The product "Earnings and payroll employment in brief: Interactive app" (14200001) is now available. This interactive data visualization application provides a comprehensive picture of the Canadian labour market using the most recent data from the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours. The estimates are seasonally adjusted and available by province and largest industrial sector. Historical estimates that go back 10 years are also included. The interactive application allows users to explore and personalize the information presented quickly and easily. Combine multiple provinces and industrial sectors to create your own labour market domains of interest.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
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