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Investing.com -- Canada’s payroll employment remained relatively stable in April with a minor decrease of 6,200 jobs, following two consecutive monthly declines in February and March, according to data released Thursday by Statistics Canada.
The latest figures from the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours showed that despite the recent monthly fluctuations, payroll employment was up by 30,400 jobs (+0.2%) compared to April 2024.
April’s employment picture revealed a mixed sectoral performance with nine of 20 sectors reporting declines. Manufacturing lost 7,300 jobs (-0.5%), accommodation and food services decreased by 5,800 positions (-0.4%), retail trade fell by 5,000 jobs (-0.3%), and administrative services dropped by 4,700 jobs (-0.6%).
These losses were partially offset by gains in health care and social assistance, which added 10,800 jobs (+0.4%), public administration with 6,200 new positions (+0.5%), and educational services which grew by 5,200 jobs (+0.4%).
The manufacturing sector has faced persistent challenges, with payroll employment down by 13,500 jobs (-0.9%) between January and April 2025. The transportation equipment manufacturing subsector led April’s decline (-2,100 jobs), with motor vehicle parts manufacturing and aerospace product manufacturing accounting for over 80% of losses in this category.
Accommodation and food services continued its downward trend since January, with a cumulative decline of 15,000 jobs (-1.2%) over the four-month period. Full-service restaurants, limited-service eating places, and traveller accommodation drove these losses.
Retail trade recorded its third consecutive monthly decline in April, bringing total losses since February to 20,300 jobs (-1.0%). Year-over-year, retail employment was down by 33,400 positions (-1.7%).
On a more positive note, health care and social assistance added 10,800 jobs in April, continuing a general upward trend that has seen the sector grow by 230,000 jobs (+10.4%) since August 2022.
Average weekly earnings increased to $1,297 in April, up 0.8% from March and 4.4% year-over-year. Average weekly hours worked remained stable at 33.5 hours.
The job vacancy situation showed signs of cooling, with vacancies decreasing by 16,800 (-3.2%) to 501,300 in April after nine months of little change. Year-over-year, job vacancies fell by 91,400 (-15.4%).
The job vacancy rate dropped to 2.8% in April from 2.9% in March, reaching its lowest level since October 2017. The unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio rose to 3.1 unemployed persons for every job vacancy, up from 2.9 in March.
By sector, finance and insurance (-4,000; -18.0%) and wholesale trade (-2,700; -13.7%) saw the largest monthly declines in job vacancies. Geographically, British Columbia, Alberta, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador all reported fewer job openings in April.