Canada job vacancies in 2026 were nearly unchanged in the second quarter, while employers’ offered pay continued to rise. Employers had about 510,200 vacancies, and the average offered hourly wage reached $28.55, up 2.0% or $0.55 from the second quarter of 2025. That is the finding in Statistics Canada’s September 15 Job Vacancy and Wage Survey release.
For someone considering a job change, the useful question is whether an offer for their occupation and location improves their own pay. The $28.55 figure combines many different openings across Canada. It is an average of wages employers offered for vacant positions, not a rate a particular applicant can expect to receive.
Canada job vacancies in 2026 held at 510,200
Open positions were little changed from both the previous quarter and the same quarter a year earlier. The vacancy rate, which measures vacant positions as a share of all filled and vacant positions, stayed at 2.8%. There were 3.0 unemployed people for every vacancy, also unchanged from the first quarter. That national ratio cannot tell you how many qualified applicants compete for a specific opening.
One sign that hiring may be less difficult for employers: 25.9% of vacancies had remained open for at least 90 days, down from 28.0% in the previous quarter. Statistics Canada notes that this share was well below its 39.5% peak in late 2022.
What does a $28.55 offered hourly wage mean for a paycheque?
At 40 paid hours a week for 52 weeks, $28.55 an hour would produce $1,142 in gross weekly pay, $2,284 every two weeks and $59,384 over a full year. This is PaycheckGuru’s calculation, assuming a steady schedule and no unpaid time. It is not Statistics Canada’s estimate of a typical worker’s annual salary.
The $0.55 year-over-year increase in the survey average translates to $22 per 40-hour week, $44 per two-week pay period or $1,144 over 2,080 hours. These figures illustrate the size of the difference between two national survey averages. They do not mean an individual vacancy received a 55-cent raise.
| Illustration at 40 paid hours a week | Current average offered wage | Year-earlier average | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hourly | $28.55 | $28.00 | $0.55 |
| Weekly gross | $1,142 | $1,120 | $22 |
| Biweekly gross | $2,284 | $2,240 | $44 |
| Annual gross, 2,080 hours | $59,384 | $58,240 | $1,144 |
If you have an actual offer, enter its hourly rate and expected hours in our payroll calculator to estimate take-home pay in your province. Compare the result with your current pay period, and account separately for benefits, paid leave, pension contributions and commuting costs.
Offered wage growth slowed, but the two wage surveys measure different things
Average offered wages for vacant positions grew 2.0% year over year in the second quarter, after 2.2% growth in the first quarter. Statistics Canada says that this annual growth rate has slowed since its 7.6% high in the third quarter of 2024. The second-quarter offered wage was $28.55, compared with $29.55 in the first quarter. Those quarterly dollar figures come from data that are not seasonally adjusted; the mix of jobs being advertised can change. Reading the $1 difference as a pay cut for the same jobs would overstate what the data show.
For comparison, Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey measured 3.6% year-over-year growth in the average hourly wage of all employees in the second quarter. That survey concerns people who already have jobs. The vacancy survey concerns wages offered for unfilled jobs. Their averages cover different groups, so the 1.6 percentage point gap does not prove that changing employers would reduce anyone’s pay. Our earlier article on average hourly wages for employees discusses a different wage measure.
August’s 3.0% inflation rate also came after the second quarter. It offers current cost-of-living context, but it should not be subtracted from second-quarter offered wage growth to claim an exact real wage change for the same period. For a household comparison, use the timing and spending assumptions in our August inflation analysis.
Where were openings growing?
The broad trades, transport and equipment operators group had 98,600 vacancies in the second quarter. Its openings were up 7,100, or 7.7%, from a year earlier. Within more detailed occupations, vacancies for material handlers reached 9,200 and those for transport truck drivers reached 13,800. Those detailed occupation comparisons are not seasonally adjusted.
Natural and applied sciences recorded 42,300 openings, up 2,400, or 6.0%, from a year earlier. Vacancies for software developers and programmers reached 3,500, up 900 year over year. This points to a rise in measured openings, not a guarantee that every applicant in those fields has more bargaining power.
The education requirement also matters. Vacancies seeking a trade certificate or diploma increased by 2,700 from a year earlier. The survey counted 1.7 unemployed people with that credential for each vacancy requiring it, the lowest ratio among the education levels it reports. Vacancies requiring a bachelor’s degree or higher fell by 5,100, with 4.9 unemployed people per opening. Qualification and job requirements still differ within each group.
What should you compare before accepting an offer?
Start with the written wage, expected paid hours and pay frequency. A 40-hour week at $28.55 produces the annual figure above; a 35-hour week produces $51,961 gross under the same 52-week assumption. The difference in hours alone is $7,423 a year, even though the hourly rate is identical.
Next, compare the whole offer with your current role: paid vacation, benefits, retirement contributions, predictable hours, and the cost of getting to work. If the rate is below the national average, that alone does not make it a poor offer. Local conditions, the occupation, experience and hours all matter. If the rate is above it, check whether the extra gross pay survives a shorter schedule or higher work costs.
Next data check: Statistics Canada says preliminary July vacancy figures are scheduled for September 24, 2026. Its next full quarterly Job Vacancy and Wage Survey release is scheduled for December 15. Those releases can show whether the current pattern persists.
Source: Statistics Canada, “Job vacancies, second quarter 2026,” released September 15, 2026. Figures verified September 19, 2026. Gross pay examples calculated by PaycheckGuru; actual pay and deductions depend on the offer and worker.