Construction jobs decline as Canadian employment flat in October: StatsCan

Ontario Construction News staff writer

Canada’s employment remained largely unchanged in October, but the construction sector saw a second consecutive monthly decline, with fewer workers and job openings.

According to Statistics Canada’s Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours, payroll employment showed little change across the economy in August. However, the construction sector experienced a slight drop, with 1,700 fewer jobs, a 0.1 per cent decline, compared to July.

Between May and August, the sector lost a net total of 4,400 jobs, with the majority of the decline concentrated in heavy and civil engineering, which shed 3,800 positions. Despite the drop over the past few months, payroll employment in construction was up by 4,900 jobs, or 0.4 per cent, compared to August 2023.

The report also indicated a decrease in job vacancies within construction after several months of little change. In August, there were 7,600 fewer job vacancies in construction, a 16.5 per cent drop, bringing the total to 38,600. This was a marked decrease from the 63,600 openings reported in August 2023.

The job vacancy rate in construction also dropped to 3.2 per cent in August, down 0.6 percentage points from July. While the vacancy rate in the sector remained above the national average of 2.9 per cent, it was the lowest since November 2019, excluding the pandemic period from April to September 2020.

Overall, the decline in the construction sector and the decrease in job vacancies suggest ongoing challenges within the industry, despite the overall increase in payroll employment compared to the previous year.