Payroll employment in accommodation and food services decreased by 13,600 (-1.0%) in February, bringing the cumulative decline since December 2024 to 19,200 (-1.5%). The decline over the two-month period was driven by full-service restaurants and limited-service eating places (-18,400; -1.8%, according to a report released Thursday by Statistics Canada.
Payroll employment in retail trade decreased by 10,600 (-0.5%) in February, more than offsetting the gain observed in January (+5,700; +0.3%). On a year-over-year basis, payroll employment in retail trade was down 28,500 (-1.4%) in February, added the federal agency.
The month-over-month decline in February in payroll employment in the retail trade sector was led by health and personal care retailers (-2,200; -1.0%), warehouse clubs, supercentres and other general merchandise retailers (-2,100; -1.3%) and building material and supplies dealers (-1,600; -1.2%), it said.
In Canada, the number of employees receiving pay and benefits from their employer—measured as “payroll employment” in the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours—decreased by 49,000 (-0.3%) in February, following an increase of 14,400 (+0.1%) in January. On a year-over-year basis, payroll employment was up 124,300 (+0.7%) in February.
In February, monthly payroll employment declines were recorded in 9 of the 20 sectors, including educational services (-21,300; -1.4%), accommodation and food services (-13,600; -1.0%), retail trade (-10,600; -0.5%), manufacturing (-6,800; -0.4%) and public administration (-5,600; -0.4%). Health care and social assistance (+12,600; +0.5%) as well as administrative and support, waste management and remediation services (+3,700; +0.5%) were the only sectors to record increases in February. The remaining nine sectors were little changed, said Statistics Canada.
Meanwhile, in February, there were 528,000 job vacancies in Canada, marking the sixth consecutive month of little change. On a year-over-year basis, job vacancies were down by 131,100 (-19.9%) in February, it added.
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