Vacancies by NOC and other characteristics

Understanding vacancies by NOC 

What are vacancies by NOC?

Vacancies by occupation show the share of vacancies reported by employers for each occupation. This helps us understand where labour demand exists, and where it might not be met.  

Because labour demand varies across occupations, disaggregating the vacancy rate allows us to see which occupations have the most demand for workers at a given time. 

What do vacancies by occupation tell us about imbalances? 

Vacancies by occupation are a direct indicator of labour market imbalances, as they show how in demand certain types of skills (occupations) are in the labour market. This indicator is most powerful when combined with other indicators such as educational attainment, employment by occupation, wages offered, and long-term vacancies.  

For example, if a province has vacancy rates for an occupation that are disproportionately higher relative to its employment in that occupation, and those vacancies are rising faster than in other occupations, it could indicate shifting employer demand. We might want to look at the educational attainment required for this occupation to see if the flow of occupation is sufficient.  

This would help us understand if an imbalance is occurring or at risk of occurring. We might also expect an occupation with unusually high or rising vacancy rates to have wages offered increase due to increased employer competition for workers. Long-term vacancy rates can also indicate deeper problems in the flow of available labour for that occupation that require more robust intervention (e.g., strategic workforce planning). 

This example shows how disaggregating labour market indicators and combining them with other metrics can give us a multi-sector perspective on how to potentially think about and respond to an imbalance.

Table notes

• Vacancies by occupation are based on the National Occupational Classification (NOC) system.
• Data is sourced from Statistics Canada’s Job Vacancy and Wage Survey (JVWS).
• Vacancies estimates may be subject to revision and should be interpreted with caution for smaller regions or detailed occupations. Data may be suppressed due to low counts or unreliable data quality.
• The indicator reflects the distribution of job vacancies across occupations, not total employment.
• Higher vacancy shares in specific occupations may indicate stronger demand for those skills, but should be interpreted alongside employment levels and other indicators.
• This indicator should be analyzed with measures such as employment by occupation, wages, and long-term vacancies to assess potential labour market imbalances.