Four findings from the duration vs wage dataset. Each one carries its numbers, its chart, and a citation you can copy.
01
Health care vacancies sit open the longest
Health occupations had 63,850 vacancies in 2026Q2 and 45.9% had been open 90 days or more, the highest long-term share of any broad group. The offered wage was $34.85 an hour, above the $30.95 median, so pay is not the binding constraint. Registered nurses: 17,275 vacancies, 45.1% open 90+ days at $36.35 an hour. Nurse aides: 13,050 vacancies, 43.0% open 90+ days at $25.90 an hour. Verdict: a supply problem. Pay beats the median and posts still do not fill.
The 8 health occupations with the most vacancies in 2026Q2, ranked by vacancies. Bars: share open 90+ days. Offered wage is what employers post.
Trades and manufacturing cannot fill posts at the wages they offer
Trades, transport and equipment operators had 105,255 vacancies in 2026Q2 with 27.7% open 90+ days, but the offered wage was $29.70 an hour, below the $30.95 median. Manufacturing: 21,215 vacancies, 25.6% open 90+ days, $26.05 an hour offered. Food counter attendants and kitchen helpers: 34,005 vacancies, 28.1% open 90+ days, $17.75 an hour offered. Verdict: a wage problem. Posts sit open because the offered pay trails the market median.
Dashed line is the $30.95 median. Offered wage is what employers post, not what workers are paid.
National vacancies reached 855,965 in 2022Q4 with 39.5% open 90+ days, matching StatCan's published figure. In 2020Q1 the long-term share spiked in every broad category as hiring froze: sales and service jumped from a 9.3% trailing average to 25.9% in a single quarter. StatCan suspended the survey for 2020Q2, and 2020Q3 was not collected either, leaving a two-quarter gap in the series. By 2026Q2 the market had cooled to 548,400 vacancies with 25.9% open 90+ days.
VacanciesShare of vacancies open 90+ days (%)
Richardson Dackam, Vacancy Duration vs Offered Wage (Open Nshipyard), StatCan table 14-10-0443 (JVWS), national series 2015Q1 to 2026Q2. vacancies.canada.nshipyard.com.
04
Sales and service has the most vacancies and fills them
Sales and service occupations had 171,750 vacancies in 2026Q2, the largest of any broad group, but only 21.8% had been open 90+ days, below the 22.2% median. The offered wage was $20.60 an hour. This is high churn, not a shortage: posts turn over fast enough that few go stale.
Dashed line is the 22.2% median. Sales and service has the most vacancies and sits below the median.