Key points 

  • Total job postings on Indeed Canada were up 23% on June 4, compared to early February 2020. 
  • Job postings are up over the past two weeks, after holding steady at elevated levels between early April and mid-May, led by solid momentum in new postings.
  • Job postings in several pandemic exposed sectors lag the overall economy, but are starting to pick up, especially in food services. 

We regularly update this report to track the pandemic’s effects on the labor market. Our methodology changed at the start of 2021, as explained in the methodology note at the end of the post.

As of June 4, total job postings on Indeed Canada were up 23% from their February 1, 2020 levels, after adjusting for seasonal trends. Postings cleared their pre-pandemic level midway through February, after plunging 47% at the start of the pandemic. After plateauing since early April, overall postings have started to rise again, up 4 percentage points since the start of May.

Line graph titled “Canadian job posting rebound hits a new high.”
Line graph titled “Canadian job posting rebound hits a new high.” With a vertical axis ranging from -60% to 30%, Indeed tracked the percent change in total Canada job postings between February 1, 2020 and June 4, 2021. As of June 4, total job postings on Indeed Canada were up 23% from their February 1, 2020 levels.

The strength in total job posting partly reflects solid momentum in the number of new job postings being added to Indeed Canada (see methodology section for definition of new job postings). As of June 4, new job postings were up an impressive 24% from February 2020. Sustained strong growth in new opportunities suggest employer hiring appetite has more gas in the tank, which should be an important boost in helping the elevated number of jobless Canadians find new work.

Line graph titled “New postings being added at a strong pace.”
Line graph titled “New postings being added at a strong pace.” With a vertical axis ranging from -80% to 40%, Indeed tracked the percent change in total Canada job postings between February 1, 2020 and June 4, 2021. As of June 4, new job postings were up 24% from the start of February 2020. 

Western Canada picks up

With a few exceptions, most job postings in most provinces have made gains since early May. Recent momentum has been particularly noticeable in Saskatchewan and Alberta, up 10 and 7 percentage points respectively since May 1, while B.C. is also showing strength. Meanwhile, postings in Atlantic Canada and Quebec stand particularly far above last February levels, while Ontario and Manitoba haven’t increased by as much. 

Table titled “Job postings in Alberta and Saskatchewan up over the past month.”
Table titled “Job postings in Alberta and Saskatchewan up over the past month.” Indeed compared the change in Canada job postings between February 1, 2020 and June 4, 2021, across all provinces. Job postings are above their pre-pandemic levels in all provinces, with Saskatchewan, Alberta, and PEI making large gains since May 1. 

Pandemic-exposed sectors starting to make strides

Job postings now exceed their pre-pandemic levels across most of the economy. In some cases, the gap is wide, like in loading and stocking, and software development. Demand in construction and nursing also remains quite strong, despite falling back since early May. Meanwhile, there have been solid rebounds similar to the overall trend across a range of areas including retail, driving, accounting, and management.  

Table titled “Pandemic-exposed sectors lagging, but showing some momentum.”
Table titled “Pandemic-exposed sectors lagging, but showing some momentum.” Indeed compared the percent change in total Canada job postings between February 1, 2020 and June 4, 2021, across various sectors divided into sections “Stronger than average,” “Similar to average.” and “Weaker than average.” Postings in some sectors are now well above where they were in early 2020, while other areas like food preparation have picked up in recent weeks. 

On the flip side, hiring appetite lags the broader economy in several pandemic exposed sectors. However, things are starting to change, as provinces begin their economic reopenings. Job postings in hospitality and tourism, sports, and especially food preparation and service have picked up since May 1, with food service postings now firmly above their pre-pandemic levels. With the reopening process still in its early stages, we could see demand in these areas ramp up further in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, opportunities in the aviation sector remain quite weak. 

The public health situation and its economic spillovers continue to change on a daily basis. We’ll be regularly updating this data as conditions evolve.

Methodology

All figures in this blogpost are the percentage change in seasonally-adjusted job postings since February 1, 2020, using a seven-day trailing average. February 1, 2020, is our pre-pandemic baseline. We seasonally adjust each series based on historical patterns in 2017, 2018, and 2019. Each series, including the national trend, occupational sectors, and sub-national geographies, is seasonally adjusted separately. This week we applied our quarterly revision, which updates seasonal factors and fixes data anomalies. Historical numbers have been revised and may differ from originally reported values.

The number of job postings on Indeed.com, whether related to paid or unpaid job solicitations, is not indicative of potential revenue or earnings of Indeed, which comprises a significant percentage of the HR Technology segment of its parent company, Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. Job posting numbers are provided for information purposes only and should not be viewed as an indicator of performance of Indeed or Recruit. Please refer to the Recruit Holdings investor relations website and regulatory filings in Japan for more detailed information on revenue generation by Recruit’s HR Technology segment.