Canada health workforce expands as vacancies and wage pressures persist

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Canada health workforce expands

Highlights

Employment in health occupations grows an average 3.0% annually from 2016 to 2025, reaching 8.2% of Canada's workforce in 2025.
Health sector job vacancies remain elevated at 67,900 in 2025—down from 90,700 in 2023 but nearly triple 2016 levels—with licensed practical nurses facing a 12.3% vacancy rate.
Average hourly wages in health occupations rise 4.0% nominally from 2024 and 24.6% from 2019, but real wages for registered nurses fall 1.4% since 2019.

Health employment growth and labour shortages

As reported by Statistics Canada, a new study released today draws on the Labour Force Survey, the Job Vacancy and Wage Survey and the Survey on Employment, Payrolls and Hours to outline employment trends, workforce characteristics, unmet labour demand and wages across health occupations.

From 2016 to 2025, employment in health occupations increases by an average of 3.0% a year, close to twice the 1.8% growth rate across all occupations. Health workers account for 8.2% of Canada's workforce in 2025, up from 7.9% in 2024 and 7.4% in 2016, with registered nursing occupations posting some of the strongest recent gains. Employment in registered nursing occupations rises 6.5% from 2024 and 33.3% from 2019, adding 25,300 workers over the year and 102,800 since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the same time, labour demand remains elevated across the sector. Health occupations record 67,900 job vacancies in 2025, down from a peak of 90,700 in 2023 but still nearly three times the 2016 level, while the sector's job vacancy rate stands at 4.5% compared with 2.7% for Canada overall. Licensed practical nurses face especially tight conditions, with a vacancy rate of 12.3% in 2025.

Wage gains lag in parts of nursing workforce

Average hourly wages for core-aged employees in health occupations increase 4.0% from 2024 and 24.6% from 2019 in nominal terms. After adjusting for inflation, average hourly pay is up 1.9% from the previous year and 3.2% from 2019.

Wage trends differ across occupations, pointing to uneven labour market pressure within the health system. Core-aged nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates record real average hourly wage growth of 2.7% from 2019 to 2025, while real average hourly wages for core-aged registered nurses decline by 1.4% over the same period.

The data underscores that a larger workforce has not fully eased structural staffing pressure in Canadian health care. For employers and policymakers, the mix of sustained hiring, high vacancy rates and uneven real wage performance keeps workforce planning a central issue for the sector.

Our earlier article on early-career job-hopping explained that switching jobs is often a key driver of wage gains and better long-term job matches, despite its negative reputation. It highlighted research showing frequent moves early in a career can account for a large share of lifetime pay growth and help workers find more stable roles over time, underscoring how labor mobility affects earnings outcomes.

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