Payroll employment in Canada rose 0.1% month over month, or by 22,000 jobs, in April, after little change in March, leaving year-over-year growth at 0.4%, the country's statistical agency announced on Thursday.
Job gains were led by health care and social assistance, public administration and administrative support services, while losses in professional services, manufacturing and construction partly offset the increase, noted Statistics Canada as part of its Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (SEPH) data release for April.
Labor demand stayed weak, with April's job vacancies flat on the month at around 490,500 and down 3.4% year over year.
The job vacancy rate, which measures vacant positions as a share of total labor demand, stood at 2.7% in April, down from 2.8% in each month from December 2025 to March 2026, added StatsCan.
In April, for every vacancy, there were 3.2 unemployed people, versus 3.1 the prior month and in April 2025, the Ottawa-based agency added.
Wage growth continued to improve gradually, with average weekly earnings rising 3.8% year over year while hours worked remained flat.