Job vacancies hit a record-high last quarter across the country, according to Statistics Canada.

New figures released Tuesday show employers were actively seeking 997,000 vacant positions in the second quarter.

That is an increase of 4.7 per cent from the first quarter, and 42.3 per cent higher than in the second quarter of 2021.

StatCan said the job vacancy rate was also at an all-time high of 5.7 per cent last quarter.

“Since the first quarter of 2020, growth in labour demand has exceeded growth in payroll employment, resulting in record high job vacancies,” said the report.

Job vacancies were up in six provinces, including Nova Scotia and Ontario, but decreased in New Brunswick, according to StatCan.

There were 136,100 job vacancies in the health care and social assistance sector, little changed from the record high of the previous quarter. The job vacancy rate in the sector was 5.9 per cent for Canada as a whole.

Job vacancies held steady across most health occupations, said the report, including registered nurses, registered psychiatric nurses, and licensed practical nurses, among others.

“Lately, staff shortages in the health care sector have led many hospitals to announce temporary reductions in services, including in their emergency rooms,” said StatCan.

Vacancies in the accommodation and food services sector rose 12.7 per cent to 149,600 in the second quarter. The job vacancy rate in the sector was 10.9 per cent, the highest across all sectors since last summer.

StatCan said the increases in vacancies were spread across many occupations, including food counter attendants, kitchen helpers, cooks, and food and beverage servers.

The number of vacant jobs in the professional, scientific and technical services sector reached a high of 74,600 in the second quarter, up 7.9 per cent from the first quarter.

Vacancies rose in professional occupations in natural and applied sciences; technical occupations related to natural and applied sciences; and professional occupations in business and finance.

The number of job vacancies in retail trade, manufacturing and construction was little changed from their respective record highs of the previous quarter, according to the report.

StatCan said there was an average of 1.1 unemployed people for each job vacancy in Canada in the second quarter, down from 1.3 in the first quarter and 2.3 in the second quarter of 2021. A lower ratio indicates a tighter labour market and possible labour shortages.

In addition, there were 44 newly hired employees for every 100 vacancies, compared to 113 new hires for every 100 vacancies in the second quarter of 2016.