By Ketki Saxena
Investing.com -- Statistics Canada reported today that the number of employees on the payroll, measured by the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (SEPH) as payroll employment—decreased by 26,100 (-0.1%) in May, the first decline since May 2021.
Both goods-producing and service sectors contributed to the decline.
Payroll employment in the goods-producing sector decreased by 20,600 (-0.7%) in May, led by losses in construction.
In the services-producing sector, the number of payroll employees decreased by 14,200 (-0.1%), with losses spread across several sectors, including educational services, health care and social assistance, and retail trade (-8,000; -0.4%).
Payroll employment increased in the professional, scientific and technical services, accommodation and food services, real estate, rental and leasing.
Across all sectors, employers in Canada were actively seeking to fill over one million (1,005,700) vacant positions at the beginning of May, comparable to the record high in April.
Wages for May were up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis, a lower rate of growth than in April (+3.2%) and March (+4.2%), and far underpacing inflation, which grew 7.7% in May.