Investing.com -- Canadian employers cut payroll positions for a second consecutive month in March, underscoring a cautious hiring environment amid uncertain economic conditions. Statistics Canada reported a loss of 54,100 payroll jobs, or 0.3%, building on February’s decline of 40,200 positions.
The contraction in payroll employment spread across half of the monitored sectors, with educational services, health and social assistance, accommodation and food services, and retail trade leading declines. Educational services shed 10,400 jobs, while health care lost 9,500—its first drop since June 2024.
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Accommodation and food services posted its third straight monthly payroll contraction, bringing total losses since January to 22,100 positions—or a 1.7% reduction. Retail trade, meanwhile, extended a long-running downswing that began in early 2023, shedding another 8,400 positions in March.
Wholesale trade and construction also posted declines in March, with cumulative losses in those sectors since December and January respectively standing at 7,300 and 17,800 payroll jobs. Still, some gains were recorded in resource-heavy sectors, including mining, quarrying, and oil and gas, which added 2,500 jobs (+1.1%).
Job vacancies in March held steady at 529,700, marking the seventh straight month of little change, although the total stood 12.1% below year-ago levels. The job vacancy rate ticked up slightly to 3.0% from 2.9% in February, but remained below the 3.4% seen in March 2024.
Retail trade saw the sharpest decline in monthly job vacancies, falling 8.4% to 48,200 available roles, with broader year-over-year reductions of 19.3%. However, transportation and warehousing, utilities, and management sectors all recorded vacancy gains in March.
Health care and social assistance continued to post elevated vacancy numbers despite a year-over-year decline of 14.4%, with openings still significantly above pre-pandemic levels. Average weekly earnings rose 4.3% year-on-year in March to $1,291, though earnings were little changed from February.
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