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 15,300 (+0.1%) in May, after edging up 14,600 (+0.1%) in April. On a year-over-year basis, payroll employment was up 43,300 (+0.2%) in May.
Monthly increases in payroll employment in May were recorded in health care and social assistance (+6,200; +0.3%), retail trade (+5,600; +0.3%) and construction (+1,200; +0.1%). These gains were partially offset by declines in manufacturing (-6,400; -0.4%), administrative and support, waste management and remediation services (-3,500; -0.4%) and wholesale trade (-2,900; -0.3%). The remaining 14 sectors were little changed.
Meanwhile, job vacancies in Canada fell by 20,400 (-4.1%) in May to 478,200, extending the decline recorded in April (-17,400; -3.4%). This was the lowest level of job vacancies recorded since October 2017 (459,800). On a year-over-year basis, job vacancies were down by 89,700 (-15.8%) in May 2025.
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