Payroll employment in retail trade decreased by 4,700 (-0.2%) in November, bringing the cumulative decline since June to 14,600 (-0.7%). The decline over this period was driven by clothing, clothing accessories, shoes, jewelry, luggage and leather goods retailers (-8,400; -4.0%) and sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument, book, and miscellaneous retailers (-4,500; -2.2%), according to a report released Thursday by Statistics Canada.
Compared with one year earlier, payroll employment in retail trade was down 30,700 (-1.5%) in November, led by food and beverage retailers (-12,100; -2.2%) and general merchandise stores (-7,700; -2.9%). Year-over-year declines were recorded in seven out of nine subsectors, said the federal agency.
“Payroll employment in accommodation and food services decreased in November (-3,600; -0.3%) for the third consecutive month, bringing the cumulative loss since September to 9,000 (-0.7%). These recent declines partially offset the cumulative gain recorded from April to August (+14,800; +1.2%),” added Statistics Canada.
“On a year-over-year basis, payroll employment in this sector was down 10,500 (-0.8%) in November, with declines recorded in four out of six industries. Full-service restaurants and limited-service eating places (-7,700; -0.8%) accounted for most (73.2%) of the year-over-year decline.”
Statistics Canada said the overall number of employees in Canada receiving pay and benefits from their employer—measured as “payroll employment” in the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours—decreased by 26,200 (-0.1%) in November, following an increase of 11,900 (+0.1%) in October. On a year-over-year basis, payroll employment was up by 48,300 (+0.3%) in November.
Monthly payroll employment declines were recorded in 10 of the 20 sectors in November, including retail trade (-4,700; -0.2%), manufacturing (-4,200; -0.3%), accommodation and food services (-3,600; -0.3%) and arts, entertainment and recreation (-2,700; -0.8%). The losses were partially offset by an increase in health care and social assistance (+2,000; +0.1%), it said.
Meanwhile, there were 472,100 vacant positions in Canada in November, little changed from October, when a decrease of 18,800 (-3.9%) was observed. On a year-over-year basis, job vacancies were down by 67,200 (-12.5%) in November 2025.
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