Payrolls rising, job vacancies flat in December: StatsCan

Payrolls continued growing in December, while the decline in job openings ground to a halt, Statistics Canada reports.

The national statistical agency reported that payroll employment rose by 91,400 in December, bringing the fourth-quarter increase to 240,600, up 1.4%.

Both the goods and services sectors saw similar gains in December, up 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively.

The finance sector led the way on the services side, with employment up 1.7% in the month, and up 7.6% during the year, StatsCan said.

The construction sector accounted for much of the increase on the goods-producing side, up 1.0% in December.

Alongside the increase in payrolls, the number of job vacancies was essentially flat in December at 848,000, StatsCan said.

Vacancies peaked at just over 1 million in May 2022 and have been steadily declining since then, but that trend eased in December.

Additionally, wage growth slowed in the month.

StatsCan reported that average weekly earnings grew at a 3.4% annual rate in December, down from 4.0% in November.

Average weekly hours worked also declined last year, with employment growth at 4.5% for the year outpacing the increase in total hours worked, which were up just 2.7% in 2022.

James Langton

James is a senior reporter for Advisor.ca and its sister publication, Investment Executive. He has been reporting on regulation, securities law, industry news and more since 1994.