Change in payroll employment in March by sector. (Source: Statistics Canada, Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (2612), table 14-10-0220-01.)
Canada’s payroll employment fell by more than 54,000 workers, or 0.3 per cent in March, reports Statistics Canada, the same percentage drop posted by Canada’s construction sector, which had 4,000 fewer workers compared to February. February itself experienced a monthly decline of 40,200 workers, or 0.2 per cent, across all sectors. Despite the losses, overall payroll employment was up by 32,800 on a year-over-year basis in March. Construction was down for the year, however.
The cumulative decline in the construction sector since January stood at 17,800 in March, a dip of 1.5 per cent. Specialty trade contractors recorded the largest cumulative decline among subsectors, falling by 10,200 positions. Non-residential building construction was the only industry within the construction sector to record an increase over that same timespan, gaining 700 workers.
On a year-over-year basis, payroll employment in construction was down 5,800, or a half per cent, this past March. The decline was led by heavy and civil engineering construction, which fell 4.6 per cent, shedding 8,100 positions, but was partially offset by an increase in specialty trade contractors, which added 1,400 to their ranks. Over the same period, payroll employment in non-residential building construction rose by 2,500 and fell by 1,600 in residential building construction.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, payroll employment stood at 1,173,700 in Canada’s construction sector in March, with 44,600 job vacancies and a job vacancy rate of 3.7 per cent.
