Key points 

  • Total job postings on Indeed Canada were up 41% on July 30, compared to early February 2020. 
  • Job postings continue to rise, led by strong momentum in new postings, up 39% from their pre-pandemic level.
  • Job postings in food services have soared above the economy-wide trend in recent weeks, while opportunities in hospitality and tourism, as well as beauty and wellness, are starting to catch up.

As of July 30, total job postings on Indeed Canada were up 41% from their February 1, 2020 levels, after adjusting for seasonal trends. Postings cleared their pre-pandemic level midway through February, following a 47% plunge at the start of the pandemic. Postings are up 23 percentage points since mid-May, when they had plateaued amid the pandemic’s third wave. 

Line graph titled “Job postings continue to rise above pre-pandemic levels.”
Line graph titled “Job postings continue to rise above pre-pandemic levels.” With a vertical axis ranging from -60% to 50%, Indeed tracked the percent change in total Canada job postings between February 1, 2020 and July 30, 2021. As of July 30, total job postings on Indeed Canada were up 41% from their February 1, 2020 levels.

The strength in total job postings partly reflects particularly strong momentum in the number of new job postings being added to Indeed Canada (see methodology section for definition of new job postings). As of July 30, new job postings were up a solid 39% from February 2020. Sustained strong growth in new opportunities suggests 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 job postings being added at a rapid pace.”
Line graph titled “New job postings being added at a rapid pace.” With a vertical axis ranging from -80% to 60%, Indeed tracked the percent change in total Canada job postings between February 1, 2020 and July 30, 2021. As of July 30, new job postings were up 39% from the start of February 2020. 

Pandemic-exposed sectors making strides

Job postings now exceed their pre-pandemic levels in almost all sectors of the economy. In some cases, the gap is wide, and has been for a while, like in software development as well as in construction. Food services job postings are now also well above their pre-pandemic level, reflecting the reopening of restaurants across the country, while demand for customer service workers has jumped recently. Meanwhile, postings are above their February 2020 levels similar to the economy-wide trend across a range of areas including legal services, industrial engineering, driving, and administrative assistance.  

Table titled “Job postings are above pre-pandemic levels in almost all sectors.”
Table titled “Job postings are above pre-pandemic levels in almost all sectors.” Indeed compared the percent change in total Canada job postings between February 1, 2020 and July 30, 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 hospitality and tourism have picked up in recent weeks. 

On the flip side, hiring appetite lags the broader economy in several pandemic exposed sectors. However, things are changing as provinces reopen. Job postings in hospitality and tourism, sports, and beauty and wellness have all made substantial strides since mid-May. We could see demand in these areas ramp up further in the coming weeks, providing a further boost to the economy-wide trend. 

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 blog post 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.

This blog post is based on publicly available information on the Indeed Canada website and any other countries if named in the post. Job postings included are positions posted by employers on Indeed as well as other sources like employer career pages, and applicant tracking systems. New job postings are posts that are 7-days old or less. Unless specified otherwise, it is limited to Canada, is not a projection of future events, and includes both paid and unpaid job solicitations.