Canada's June payroll count is nearly flat as vacancies edge above 509,000

Editorial disclosure. This report provides educational business context. It is not financial advice, a rating or a transaction instruction.

Canada's payroll employment was little changed in June, increasing by 4,800, after a 45,000 gain in May. Vacancies edged up by 10,500 to 509,100, according to Statistics Canada's August 27 release. These observations cover June. ¹

Public administration added 10,600 payroll employees and construction gained 2,000. Manufacturing lost 7,200, accommodation and food services declined by 6,100, and retail trade fell by 3,900. These opposing movements help explain the small aggregate change. ¹

Openings and earnings

The vacancy rate was 2.8%, unchanged from May. There were 2.9 unemployed people per vacancy, down from 3.0 in May. That ratio counts people and positions without establishing a match. ¹

Average weekly earnings reached $1,343.86 in June, 3.4% above June 2025. The table reports a $44.18 annual increase, from $1,299.68. These are current-dollar amounts, include overtime and represent gross payroll before deductions. They are therefore not a measure of take-home pay or inflation-adjusted spending power, and they describe an average across employees. ³

June's earnings figure is marked preliminary, while May's $1,336.30 is marked revised. Keeping those labels beside the numbers makes the data's status visible. The month-to-month dollar increase was $7.56. A reader comparing reports from different release dates should check which vintage of the estimate each uses. ³

Why the survey label matters

The more recent Labour Force Survey covers the week of August 9–15. It is a household survey, and its national estimates exclude the territories. It classifies people as employed, unemployed or outside the labour force. Its unemployment rate uses employed and unemployed people as the denominator. ²

That survey also includes self-employment, while the payroll measure excludes it. The two indicators therefore answer related but different questions. August's household observation cannot substitute for the June payroll reference period, and neither should be presented as if it measured conditions on the publication date. ¹²

Uncertainty and what to watch

Monthly vacancy estimates are preliminary. Payroll and vacancy-survey employment differ in scope and reference period, so their counts are not interchangeable. Second-quarter vacancy details are scheduled for September 15, including occupational information and offered wages; July payroll and vacancy figures are due September 24. ¹