Canadians’ interest in holiday hiring

While employer demand for seasonal roles has softened, job seeker interest has risen. In early November, 0.27% of job searches on Indeed included holiday-related terms, up from 0.24% in 2023 and 0.20% in 2022. This marks the second consecutive year of growth in seasonal job searches, reflecting the challenges job seekers face in a soft labour market.

^{Source: Indeed}

“Weak seasonal hiring appetite, along with ample job seeker interest, suggest employers still in the market for workers over the holidays will have an easier time filling short-term positions to end the year,” said Bernard. “However, the outlook remains challenging for those looking for seasonal work. These dynamics have generally been defining features of the Canadian labour market throughout 2024.”

He added that this could potentially be a sign that November and December will offer a repeat of the recent tough summer job market, in which the unemployment rate among students planning to return to school in the fall was the highest (outside of 2020) since 2012.