If you’re curious about the state of the jobs market in Canada, look no further than the Conference Board of Canada’s new Canadian Hiring Index.
The index was introduced this year to provide employers and businesses with new insights into the labour demand in their region or across the country.
“This Index is being introduced to provide businesses and employers with insights into changes in gross labour demand in the economy,” said Sohaib Shahid, the director of economic innovation at the Conference Board of Canada. “We also include a measure of labour market tightness, which provides a read on labour market demand relative to labour force capacity at national and provincial levels.”
Launched in April, the index increased 6.7 per cent month-over-month in March, the highest increase since July 2022, the Conference Board said in a news release. While the index increased from March to April, job postings nationally decreased 5.1 per cent compared to March 2022. The manufacturing, construction and utilities sectors saw the most notable rise in the Index in April compared to March.
“Increased immigration levels in Canada are driving both population and labour force growth, resulting in notable employment gains,” the board said. “The Conference Board of Canada anticipates the unemployment rate to rise in 2023, as the demand for workers from organizations wanes and ability for an increasing population to find work weakens.”
Calling the index “timely,” the Conference Board said the tool (which is available to purchase monthly from the board) provides monthly data that track changes in the volume of online job postings by occupation, industry and location, and includes all provinces and 29 major cities across Canada.
Job postings data are collected from company websites and online job boards. Historical data is available from January 2018.
Jobs of the Future is made possible by our Community Leaders Program.
