Payroll employment, earnings and hours, and job vacancies, December 2024
Released: 2025-02-27
$1,290.82
December 2024
5.8% 
(12-month change)
$1,279.09
December 2024
4.9%
(12-month change)
$1,099.43
December 2024
8.0%
(12-month change)
$1,135.67
December 2024
4.7%
(12-month change)
$1,181.42
December 2024
5.8%
(12-month change)
$1,241.50
December 2024
6.4%
(12-month change)
$1,328.24
December 2024
6.7%
(12-month change)
$1,141.74
December 2024
2.2%
(12-month change)
$1,242.31
December 2024
6.0%
(12-month change)
$1,339.21
December 2024
3.8%
(12-month change)
$1,289.38
December 2024
4.4%
(12-month change)
$1,452.04
December 2024
3.2%
(12-month change)
$1,835.40
December 2024
13.8%
(12-month change)
$1,719.74
December 2024
5.4%
(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 25,300 (+0.1%) in December, following a decrease of 14,400 (-0.1%) in November and three consecutive months of little change from August to October. On a year-over-year basis, payroll employment was up 158,000 (+0.9%) in December.
Payroll employment in the transportation and warehousing sector increased by 30,500 (+3.7%) in December, partially offsetting a decrease of 36,100 (-4.2%) in November. The decline in November was associated with the strike action in the postal service industry and was expected to be temporary (see the box "Strike action impacts on the transportation and warehousing sector in November 2024").
Excluding the transportation and warehousing sector, national payroll employment was little changed in December, following an increase of 21,700 (+0.1%) in November.
Chart 1
Payroll employment increases in December, following a decrease in November
In addition to transportation and warehousing, payroll employment gains were recorded in health care and social assistance (+7,800; +0.3%), administrative and support, waste management and remediation services (+6,700; +0.8%), public administration (+5,200; +0.4%) and accommodation and food services (+1,200; +0.1%) in December. These increases were partially offset by decreases in seven sectors, including retail trade (-9,000; -0.5%), information and cultural industries (-5,700; -1.6%) and educational services (-4,100; -0.3%). The remaining eight sectors were little changed.
Meanwhile, job vacancies increased by 15,500 (+3.0%) to 536,100 in December, following three consecutive months of little change.
Chart 2
Payroll employment increases in five sectors and decreases in seven others in December
Strike action impacts on the transportation and warehousing sector in November 2024
In November 2024, a number of unions across Canada began labour disputes. This included the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, which represents nearly 55,000 postal workers across Canada. 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.
Payroll employment in health care and social assistance continues to increase in December
Payroll employment in health care and social assistance increased by 7,800 (+0.3%) in December, led by general medical and surgical hospitals (+4,500; +0.7%).
On a year-over-year basis, payroll employment in health care and social assistance was up 84,300 (+3.6%) in December. This increase was led by general medical and surgical hospitals (+32,700; +5.2%) and child day-care services (+12,400; +6.8%).
Payroll employment increases in administrative and support, waste management and remediation services
Payroll employment in administrative and support, waste management and remediation services rose by 6,700 (+0.8%) in December. Prior to this increase, payroll employment in this sector had trended down since January 2023, recording a net decline of 28,800 (-3.4%) from January 2023 to November 2024. This decline was largely attributable to the employment services industry group (-26,400; -12.4%).
Payroll employment gains in public administration in December
Payroll employment in public administration rose by 5,200 (+0.4%) in December, following little change in November. In December, the largest gains were recorded in provincial and territorial public administration (+2,900; +0.8%).
Year over year, payroll employment in public administration was up by 22,500 (+1.7%) in December, led by local, municipal and regional public administration (+15,000; +3.0%).
Payroll employment continues to decline in retail trade
Payroll employment in retail trade fell by 9,000 (-0.5%) in December, continuing the downward trend seen since January 2024. The net decline from January to December (-39,500; -2.0%) was led by sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument, book, and miscellaneous retailers (-14,500; -6.8%), followed by building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers (-8,700; -6.0%), clothing, clothing accessories, shoes, jewelry, luggage and leather goods retailers (-7,100; -3.4%) and general merchandise retailers (-5,500; -2.1%). Motor vehicle and parts dealers (+1,700; +0.7%) was the sole subsector to record a gain over the same period.
Average weekly earnings continue to increase on a year-over-year basis
On a year-over-year basis, average weekly earnings were up 5.8% to $1,291 in December, following a 5.0% year-over-year increase in November. In general, growth in average weekly earnings can reflect a range of factors, including changes in wages, composition of employment, hours worked and base-year effects.
In December, average weekly hours worked (33.5 hours) were little changed both on a month-over-month and year-over-year basis.
Job vacancies increase in December
Job vacancies increased by 15,500 (+3.0%) to 536,100 in December, following three consecutive months of little change. On a year-over-year basis, job vacancies were down by 98,100 (-15.5%) in December, while total labour demand—which corresponds to the sum of filled and unfilled positions—was up by 0.3%.
The job vacancy rate—which corresponds to the number of vacant positions as a proportion of total labour demand—was 3.0% in December, up by 0.1 percentage points from November (2.9%).
There were 2.8 unemployed persons for every job vacancy in December, down from 3.0 in November, reflecting an increase in vacancies (+14,900; +2.9%, excluding the territories) and a decrease in the number of unemployed persons (-35,100; -2.3%, measured by the Labour Force Survey). The unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio has trended up since its low of 1.0 in July 2022 and reached 3.0 in November 2024. December marked the first decline in the ratio since January 2024.
Infographic 1
Job vacancies up in December after three consecutive months of little change
Job vacancies rise in three sectors and fall in two sectors
In December, the number of job vacancies increased in retail trade (+9,600 to 52,200), management of companies and enterprises (+700 to 2,900) and utilities (+600 to 2,300). These increases were largely offset by decreases in health care and social assistance (-7,600 to 107,300) and finance and insurance (-3,500 to 20,100).
Year over year, vacancies declined in 12 of the 20 sectors in December, with the largest decreases being in accommodation and food services (-19,700; -24.3%), health care and social assistance (-18,600; -14.8%) and construction (-12,300; -22.3%). Over the same period, job vacancies in the remaining eight sectors were little changed.
Job vacancies up in retail trade for the first time since January 2024
The number of vacant positions in retail trade increased by 9,600 (+22.6%) to 52,200 in December, the largest increase across all sectors in the month. With this increase, the number of vacancies in December was similar to the number recorded in July 2024 (52,300). On a year-over-year basis, job vacancies in retail trade were down by 7,100 (-11.9%) in December.
The job vacancy rate in the retail trade sector increased by 0.5 percentage points to 2.6% in December but was down 0.3 percentage points from December 2023 (2.9%).
Job vacancies decrease in health care and social assistance
In December 2024, job vacancies in health care and social assistance decreased by 7,600 to 107,300, following little change in November. The decline in December offset the increase recorded in October (+7,600 to 121,300). In December, the number of job vacancies in this sector remained higher than it was before the COVID-19 pandemic (73,200 vacancies in March 2020) and accounted for 20.0% of vacancies across all sectors.
The job vacancy rate in health care and social assistance was 4.2% in December 2024, down by 0.3 percentage points from the previous month (4.5%) and down 0.9 percentage points from one year earlier (5.1%). The job vacancy rate in this sector in December was the second highest across all sectors, behind accommodation and food services (4.5%).
Chart 3
Job vacancy rate trends in the five sectors with highest levels of vacancies
Number of vacant positions increase in four provinces
In December, the number of vacant positions increased in Alberta (+6,800 to 72,000), Saskatchewan (+2,500 to 17,600), Nova Scotia (+1,700 to 14,700) and Prince Edward Island (+700 to 3,100). Job vacancies were little changed in the remaining six provinces.
On a year-over-year basis, the job vacancy rate was down in seven provinces in December, with the largest declines being recorded in British Columbia (-0.8 percentage points to 3.6%), Saskatchewan (-0.7 percentage points to 3.4%), Alberta (-0.6 percentage points to 3.3%) and Ontario (-0.6 percentage points to 2.6%). Over the same period, the job vacancy rate was little changed in Prince Edward Island (4.2%), Nova Scotia (3.2%) and Newfoundland and Labrador (2.7%).
Chart 4
Year over year, job vacancy rate down in seven provinces
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 data 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 people in the labour market.
Employment trends from the SEPH and from the LFS generally track each other closely, especially over longer periods of time. That said, because of differences in concepts, definitions and methodologies, variations in employment levels in SEPH and in the LFS may differ, especially over shorter periods. 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).
The SEPH and LFS both also provide monthly indicators of pay received by employees. Used together, average weekly earnings (from SEPH) and average hourly wages (from the LFS) can provide a comprehensive portrait of pay dynamics in Canada. For information on definitions for each indicator, key conceptual and measurement differences, and guidance to data users on when to use each indicator, refer to the report "Earnings and Wages – A guide to using indicators from the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours and the Labour Force Survey."
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) 2022 version 1.0 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. Changes in average weekly earnings can reflect a range of factors, including changes in wages, composition of employment, hours worked and base-year effects.
Base-year effect refers to the impact that trends from 12 months earlier (base month) have on the current month's estimate of year-over-year change. In the case of SEPH, when the average weekly earnings in the base month is at the peak of a short-term trend, this tends to have a downward effect on year-over-year average weekly earnings growth in the current month. In contrast, if the value of the base month is at a low point of a trend, this tends to have an upward effect on the current month's year-over-year growth in average weekly earnings.
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. This analysis focuses on differences between estimates that are statistically significant at the 68% confidence level.
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 unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio excludes the territories for consistency with the geographic coverage of the available LFS data (table 14-10-0287-01).
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 17, 2025.
Next release
January 2025 data for SEPH and JVWS will be released on March 27, 2025. Fourth quarter of 2024 JVWS results, which will provide insights into job vacancies by subsector, vacancies by occupation and offered wages, will be released on March 18, 2025.
With the release of January 2025 data, recent and historical SEPH monthly data will be replaced with revised estimates. All seasonally unadjusted monthly data series have been revised for a small number of industries across different regions to correct reporting or processing errors. Additionally, seasonally adjusted data will be revised back to 2001 based on the latest seasonal factors.
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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