• Canadian job postings started 2023 on a soft note, and as of February 3rd were down 12% from their May 2022 peak. At the same time, postings were still 53% above pre-pandemic levels. 
  • Despite weaker momentum, new job postings continue to be added at a solid pace, suggesting that the decline in hiring appetite amid the uncertain economic environment has been moderate, so far. 
  • Strength in job postings over the past year has varied widely by sector. Several higher-paying white collar occupations, especially tech, were weaker than average, while lower-paying job types, including those in food services, as well as hospitality and tourism held up better. 

The Canadian labour market remains favourable for most job seekers, but employer hiring appetite isn’t as strong as it was last summer. As of February 3, 2023, job postings on Indeed were down 3% from a year earlier, and 12% below their May 2022 peak, on a seasonally-adjusted basis. Nonetheless, despite softening over the past year, Canadian job postings were still up 53% from their pre-pandemic level. 

Line graph entitled “Canadian job postings have slipped, but still elevated.”
Line graph entitled “Canadian job postings have slipped, but still elevated.” With a vertical axis ranging from -90% to 90%, Indeed tracked the percent change in total and new Canadian job postings between February 1, 2020 and February 3, 2023. As of February 3, total Canadian job postings on Indeed were up 53% from their February 1, 2020 levels, but down 12% from early May 2022.

More recently, total job postings slipped at the end of 2022, reflecting volatility in postings that typically occurs around the New Year. At the same time, new postings which have been on Indeed seven days or less have held steadier in recent months, after slowing more sharply than total postings in mid-2022. Despite cooler momentum, the number of new postings was still up 47% from February 2020, indicating that at least in the aggregate, employer hiring intentions have remained resilient amid the uncertain economic environment. 

High-wage job postings down from a year earlier, low-wage fields have held up better

Through mid-2022, Canadian job posting trends were fairly similar across occupations, differences between jobs mostly centered around whether their growth from pre-pandemic levels was either strong, or exceptional. However, as economy-wide postings have softened, more striking contrasts have emerged. 

Grouping occupations into wage-tiers based on their median posted salaries in 2019, job postings remain well above pre-pandemic levels across the pay-spectrum. However, over the past year, postings for high-paying job types have slipped 13%. This contrasts with stable levels among mid-wage roles, and a 7% increase among low-paying positions. 

Bar chart entitled “Job posting slowdown sharpest for high-paying job types.”
Bar chart entitled “Job posting slowdown sharpest for high-paying job types.” With a vertical axis ranging from -20% to 70%, Indeed tracked the percent change in Canadian job postings by occupational wage tier as of February 3, 2023, with different colours representing growth since February 2020, and growth since February 2022. Job postings are over 50% higher than their pre-pandemic level across the three wage tiers, but high-wage postings are down 13% over the past year, while low-wage postings are up 7%. 

Leading the drop in high-paying job types have been declines across a range of white collar jobs, especially in tech. Despite doubling between the start of 2020 and early 2022, postings in software development are now only slightly above their pre-pandemic level, after dropping 46% over the past year. The number of marketing job postings, as well as postings for banking and finance positions, have also declined from a year ago, though the latter remains elevated compared to where it stood in February 2020. 

Table titled “White-collar job postings down from a year ago, health care and hospitality up.”
Table titled “White-collar job postings down from a year ago, health care and hospitality up.” Indeed compared the percent change in total Canadian job postings as of February 3, 2023 across different sectors with where each field stood one year earlier, as well as on February 1, 2020, dividing sectors into  “Stronger than average,” “Similar to average.” and “Weaker than average,” based on their respective year-over-year growth. Postings in several health care and service related roles are up over the past year, while tech, marketing, as well as banking and finance are down. That said, postings across the different categories are all up compared to their pre-pandemic levels. 

Demand in other job types has fared better over the past year. Postings in both hospitality and food services, as well as jobs in a range of health care fields, are higher than where they stood in February 2022. Meanwhile, postings have been more stable in fields like retail, construction, manufacturing, and administrative assistance, all which remain well above pre-pandemic levels. 

So far, the recent weakening of Canadian job postings has primarily been concentrated in parts of the economy where jobs have soared over the past three years. For instance, employment in professional, scientific, and technical services was up 19% from its pre-pandemic level in December 2022. Whether the falloff in hiring appetite in these areas results in flattening or outright declines in employment levels, or perhaps leads to weaker wage growth instead, is one of the key labour market developments to watch as we start 2023. 

Methodology

Data on seasonally adjusted Indeed job postings are an index of seasonally adjusted job postings with 100 equal to the number on 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. We adopted this methodology in January 2021. Data for several dates in 2021 and 2022 are missing and were interpolated. Non-seasonally adjusted data are calculated in a similar manner except that the data are not adjusted to historical patterns.

The number of job postings on Indeed, 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.