Long-term unemployment and long-term vacancy rates

Understanding long-term unemployment and vacancy rates 

What are long-term unemployment and long-term vacancy rates?

The long-term unemployment rate measures how persistent unemployment is. Individuals who have been unemployed for 27 weeks or longer are considered long-term unemployed. This rate is calculated as the share of unemployed individuals who have been out of work for at least 27 weeks. 

The long-term vacancy rate measures how difficult it is for employers to fill open positions. A vacancy is considered long-term if it has remained unfilled for 90 days or more. This rate represents the share of all vacancies that remain open for extended periods. 

Together, these indicators capture persistence in the labour market from both perspectives: job seekers facing prolonged unemployment and employers struggling to fill roles over time. 

What do these indicators tell us about imbalances? 

Long-term unemployment and long-term vacancy rates provide insight into persistent and structural labour market imbalances. By focusing on prolonged job search and extended hiring difficulties, these indicators help identify where short-term fluctuations may reflect deeper underlying issues. 

High long-term unemployment can point to challenges such as skill mismatches, barriers to employment, or limited demand for certain types of labour. At the same time, high long-term vacancy rates may indicate ongoing shortages in specific regions, occupations, or skill areas. 

When analyzed together and alongside other indicators—such as educational attainment, unemployment rates, and vacancy rates—these measures can help identify where labour supply and demand are misaligned over time. This can support more targeted workforce planning, training investments, and policy responses. 

Table notes

• The long-term unemployment rate is calculated as the number of individuals unemployed for 27 weeks or more, divided by the total number of unemployed individuals.
• The long-term vacancy rate is calculated as the share of job vacancies that have remained open for 90 days or longer.
• Unemployment data is sourced from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), and vacancy data is sourced from the Job Vacancy and Wage Survey (JVWS).
• Vacancies estimates may be subject to revision and should be interpreted with caution for smaller regions. Data may be suppressed due to low counts or unreliable data quality.
• Vacancies data from Statistics Canada are provided quarterly and averaged annually to align with long-term unemployment rates, which are reported annually.
• These indicators reflect persistent labour market challenges from both job-seeker and employer perspectives.
• Both measures should be interpreted alongside other indicators, such as unemployment rates, vacancy rates, and educational attainment, to better understand structural imbalances.
• Data is available only for provinces for Long-term unemployment, while Long-run vacancies are collected for both provinces and territories but displayed only for provinces in the dashboard. As a result, averaged Canada totals will reflect these geographies that were collected and aggregated through Statistics Canada.