Canadian Job Market Outlook
Canadian Labour Market Snapshot
5.0%
Unemployment rate (April)
41,000*
Jobs increased (April)
382,300**
12-month employment gains (April 2023)
23.4%+
Remote openings rate (April 2023)
*Statistics Canada, seasonally adjusted
**Statistics Canada, seasonally adjusted, May 2022 to April 2023.
+Robert Half calculations are based on job postings provided by TalentNeuron™, a comprehensive source of global labour market analytics by Gartner.
Hiring Needs Outweigh Economic Uncertainty
Even amid layoffs in some sectors, many companies nationwide are hiring, and the labour market remains tight. Job openings are still high, and the unemployment rate remains low.
90%
of hiring managers still face tough challenges in landing new talent.
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Companies’ Hiring Plans
First half of 2023
-
Hiring for new roles51%
-
Hiring for vacated positions42%
-
Freezing hiring6%
-
Eliminating positions1%
Second half of 2022
-
Hiring for new roles40%
-
Hiring for vacated positions 50%
-
Freezing hiring8%
-
Eliminating positions2%
Workers Worry More About Economy Than Jobs
What concerns them:
Rising prices/interest rates
The overall economy
Ability to find a new job
Job security
Employers May See More Turnover in 2023
- More professionals want new jobs now than in the last half of 2022 (see graphs at right)— leaving the onus on employers to up retention efforts and attract top talent looking for a change.
- Among those most likely to make a move are employees who have been with their company for two to four years (61 per cent), technology professionals (57 per cent), and Gen Z (58 per cent).
- The potential for career advancement within a company could help retain workers.
Workers planning to seek new jobs in Q1-2 2023
Those who planned to seek new jobs in Q3-4 2022
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Remote Job Trends
See where the remote work divide is deepening and which roles are yielding the greatest rates of remote opportunities.
In-Demand Roles and Hiring Trends by Profession
See which jobs employers want to hire for soon, based on Robert Half’s unique demand scoring system.
Report Methodology
Robert Half’s Demand for Skilled Talent uses a proprietary methodology to analyze more than 186,000 positions posted on over 300 independent job boards and company websites across Canada over the previous two quarters.
Job roles included in this report span over 60 categories within the Statistics Canada, National Occupational Classification (NOC) system (2016 Version 1.3) for the administrative and customer support, finance and accounting, human resources, legal, marketing and creative, and technology professions.
Robert Half’s analysis removes any repeat postings made within 30 days of the original posting.
