The gap between job openings and people to fill them is narrowing.
The latest monthly report on job vacancies – these are positions employers have created but not yet filled – puts this province in a different light. For much of the last year or two, we have been the best province for job seekers to secure a position because we had the largest percentage of job vacancies in the country.
Well, that changed in July. We went from 4.6-percent of all employment slots being empty a year ago to 3.1-percent.
That moved us from the highest vacancy rate to a tie for fourth.
This is just one more sign that the labor market is tightening up as the number of unfilled jobs in the province now sits at roughly 15,500. A month earlier it would have been closer to 18,000.
This made it harder to find a job as employers are able to be a bit pickier about who they hire. And it even resulted in a slight reduction in the average pay packet in July which was 60-cents a week lower than in June.
