Job vacancies in Alberta plummet by 48%

The number of unfilled jobs in Albertahas been cut nearly in half in the span of ayear, dragging the province's job vacancy rate from the highest in Canada to among the lowest.

There were 35,000 fewer unfilledjobs in Alberta in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the same period in 2015, according to data released Thursday byStatistics Canada.

Theprovince's 48-per-cent drop in job vacancies was by far the steepest decline in the country, which recorded an 18-per-cent decline nationally.

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The job vacancy rate refers to the share of jobs that are unfilled out of all payroll jobs available. It represents the number of job vacancies expressed as a percentage of labour demand, according to Statistics Canada.

The job vacancy rate in Alberta stood at 3.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2015,which was the highest in Canada.

A year later, it was at1.9 per cent, withonly Newfoundland and Labrador (1.7 per cent), Quebec (1.6 per cent) and Prince Edward Island (1.2 per cent) posting lower rates.

Below is an interactive graph showing job vacancy numbersin Alberta by occupation type:

Of the jobs available in Alberta, 72.4 per centare full-time positions,the second-highest proportion in the country behind Quebec's 73 per cent.

In Canada,67.8 per centof the vacancies were for full-time work in the first quarter of 2016.

The average hourly wage for vacant positions in Alberta is $20.05, just over the national average of $19.95.

The Wood Buffalo-Cold Lake area in northern Alberta is seventh out of 10 on the list of economic regions offering the highest offered hourly wage, at $22.80.

Nunavut has the highest average offered hourly rate at $27.90 and New Brunswick has the lowest, at $15.70.

The Banff-Jasper-Rocky Mountain House area is among the 10 economic regions with the highest job vacancy rates, at 2.6 per cent.

The national average is 2.1 per cent, down 0.5 percentage points from last year.

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