The number of vacant positions continues to decrease in Quebec. It was 152,400 in the fourth quarter of 2023.
This is a drop of 56,400 compared to the corresponding quarter of 2022, the Institut de la tourisme du Québec (ISQ) said on Thursday.
Although we often hear about the food service and retail industries, the number of job vacancies was highest in the health care and social assistance sector. It was 40,500 for this fourth quarter of 2023.
This is followed by the retail trade sector, with 16,100 vacancies for this quarter, accommodation and food services, with 14,500 vacancies, and then manufacturing, with 14,000 vacancies.
In fact, 56% of vacancies were in these four industries during this quarter, notes the ISQ.
These vacancies were mostly full-time positions, 116,000 of them.
“Between the fourth quarter of 2022 and the fourth quarter of 2023, the number of positions vacant for 30 to 90 days fell by 26.9%, and the number of those vacant for at least 90 days decreased by 39, 0%,” underlines the ISQ.
As for the regions of Quebec, the number of vacant positions decreased in 12 regions between the fourth quarter of 2022 and the fourth quarter of 2023.
The decline is particularly marked in Montreal (-19,400), in Montérégie (-9700), in the National Capital (-8400), in Laval (-3900) and in Chaudière-Appalaches (-3500), underlines the ISQ.
Increase in remuneration
The average remuneration for vacant positions was $26.25 per hour, while it reached $32.86 per hour for all salaried jobs, specifies the ISQ.
“The increase in the average hourly remuneration offered for vacant positions was particularly significant” in certain sectors, namely in primary industries and public services, manufacturing, professional, scientific and technical services, as well as construction, underlines the ISQ.
It’s not just positions requiring little education that remain vacant. Thus, 68,900 of these positions required a high school diploma or less as training, 54,300 required postsecondary training and 29,200 university training.