Signs of easing labour market conditions returned in June, according to Statistics Canada.
The national statistical agency reported payrolls declined by 0.3% in the month, a decrease of 47,300 workers. This marks a reversal after payrolls grew in the first five months of the year.
Employment dropped in 11 of 20 sectors, led by a 0.8% decline in retail trade and 0.7% drops in both manufacturing and construction.
Mining was the only sector to record a gain, while the rest were largely unchanged, the data showed.
The number of job vacancies was largely unchanged in June, StatCan said — but the ratio of unemployed workers to job vacancies increased in the month, driven by higher unemployment.
“This was the fifth consecutive monthly increase in the unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio,” StatCan said, with there now being 2.6 unemployed workers for every unfilled job.
“This ratio has seen an upward trend since its lowest level of 1.0 in July 2022, indicating cooling in the labour market over the period,” the agency noted.
Over the past 12 months, the crop of job openings has dropped by 25.6%.
Average weekly earnings were also relatively flat in June vs. May, although earnings are still up by 4.0% on a year-over-year basis.