Employment Trends in 2023: Demand for Skilled Talent

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

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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:

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Rising prices/interest rates

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The overall economy

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Ability to find a new job

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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.

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Workers planning to seek new jobs in Q1-2 2023

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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.

Explore trends

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.

Administrative and Customer Support

Finance and Accounting

Human Resources

Legal

Marketing and Creative

Technology

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.

The Demand for Skilled Talent

2023 hiring and employment trends