Key points 

  • Total Canadian job postings on Indeed were up 69% on March 18, compared to early February 2020, a new pandemic-era high, continuing a rebound after a brief dip to start the year.
  • New job postings cooled slightly from a month earlier but continue to be added to Indeed at a rapid pace, up 72% compared to its pre-pandemic rate. 
  • Job postings are elevated across Canada, with postings in Atlantic Canada and the Prairies furthest above their pre-pandemic levels.
  • Hiring appetite is particularly strong among higher-paying occupational sectors like human resources, and software development, while postings in lower-paying fields like food services have shown strong momentum in recent weeks.   

As of March 18, total Canadian job postings on Indeed were up 69% from their February 1, 2020 levels, after adjusting for seasonal trends. Postings are at their highest level since the start of the pandemic, bouncing back in recent weeks after dropping off at the start of the year, an often volatile time for job postings. Postings now stand three percentage points above where they ended last year, and up a full 10 percentage points since mid-November. 

Line graph titled “Canadian job postings hit a new high in March.”
Line graph titled “Canadian job postings hit a new high in March.” With a vertical axis ranging from -60% to 80%, Indeed tracked the percent change in total Canada job postings between February 1, 2020 and March 18, 2022. As of March 18, total Canadian job postings on Indeed were up 69% from their February 1, 2020 levels.

The ongoing increase in total job postings continues to be driven by a fresh wave of employer demand. As of March 18, the number of new Canadian job postings on Indeed (seven days old or less) was up 72% from its pre-pandemic rate, after adjusting for seasonal trends. While this pace is down somewhat from a month earlier, it remains stronger than we saw at any point in 2021. This momentum suggests that the Canadian labour market’s shift towards a job seekers’ market has continued in early 2022, and that hiring doesn’t look like it’ll be getting easier for employers in the near future.

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 100%, Indeed tracked the percent change in new Canada job postings between February 1, 2020 and March 18, 2022. As of March 18, new job postings were up 72% compared to the start of February 2020. 

Demand elevated across provinces

Job postings are well above pre-pandemic levels across Canada, the variation instead being just by magnitude. Postings are furthest above their pre-pandemic levels in Atlantic Canada, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, perhaps partly because job vacancy rates in these provinces were generally a bit below the national average prior to the crisis. Conversely, postings aren’t above their pre-pandemic level by as much in B.C., where vacancy rates were already quite elevated in early 2020.  

​​Table titled “Job postings are strong across provinces.”
​​Table titled “Job postings are strong across provinces.” Indeed compared the change in Canada job postings between February 1, 2020 and March 18, 2022, across all provinces. Job postings are well above their pre-pandemic levels in all provinces.

Job postings remain strong across a wide range of sectors, lower-paying fields catching up to higher-wage ones

Postings for higher-paying occupations are furthest above their pre-pandemic as of March 18 standing 80% above where they were in February 2020, roughly unchanged over the past month. Meanwhile, after dropping to start the year, potentially due to the Omicron wave, job postings for lower paying positions, including in food services, as well as hospitality and tourism have rebounded well, sending postings for low-wage job types overall to 73% above their pre-pandemic level. Mid-wage job types haven’t seen the same degree of momentum in recent weeks, but are also up a still strong 61% from February 2020. 

Line graph titled “Lower-paying jobs driving recent growth”
Line graph titled “Lower-paying jobs driving recent growth.” With a vertical axis ranging from -60% to 100%, Indeed tracked the percent change in total Canada job postings with occupations grouped into three different wage tiers, between February 1, 2020 and March 18, 2022. As of March 18, postings were well above pre-pandemic levels across wage tiers, with the largest increase among higher-paying occupations, but faster growth in recent weeks among longer-paying job types.

Canadian job postings are well above pre-pandemic levels across the vast majority of occupational sectors. Demand is particularly exceptional in some areas, including software development, construction, and loading and stocking. Meanwhile, job postings in human resources are up by even more, as employers look for workers to both facilitate the hiring process, and navigate questions around the reopening of workplaces. 

Table titled “Job postings well above pre-pandemic levels in almost all sectors.”
Table titled “Job postings well above pre-pandemic levels in almost all sectors.” Indeed compared the percent change in total Canadian job postings between February 1, 2020 and March 18, 2022, across various sectors divided into sections “Stronger than average,” “Similar to average.” and “Weaker than average.” Postings in almost all sectors are currently well above where they were in early 2020, including software development, construction, and human resources. 

Meanwhile, job postings are well above their February 2020 levels similarly to the economy-wide trend across a range of sectors. These include areas like installation and maintenance, accounting, and administrative assistance, among others. Lastly, job postings are above pre-pandemic levels, but not to the same extent in several pandemic-exposed sectors, including sports and beauty and wellness, while after lagging throughout most of 2021, aviation-related job postings are now above their pre-pandemic level. If last year’s developments are any indication, hiring appetite in these areas could pick up further as long as the public health situation doesn’t deteriorate. 

Methodology

All non-vaccine related 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.

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.