5 Key Hiring Takeaways from Indeed’s Senior Economist: Webinar Recap

Canada’s job market is evolving alongside global and societal changes — from immigration trends to geopolitical shifts to post-pandemic behaviour. While both job seekers and employers alike face their own set of challenges, these changes can also bring about opportunities to adapt and innovate.

In the webinar, “Navigating the 2025 Canadian Job Market — Insights from Indeed’s Senior Economist,” Indeed’s Brendon Bernard shares insights about the labour landscape and offers key takeaways for employers to consider as they look to hire in 2025.

The state of the Canadian labour market

The Canadian labour market is shifting. While the unemployment rate, standing at 6.6 per cent as of February, is not exceptionally high by historical standards, it’s not the same job seeker’s market it was right after the pandemic (when unemployment was a record low at 5.0 per cent). This is a sign that job seekers are facing a more competitive environment.

Employers, meanwhile, are noticing a shift in who is applying for roles. While non-permanent residents, foreign students and people on temporary foreign work visas had been leading the surge in population growth, changes to immigration policy are reshaping recruitment patterns.

Of course, different sectors are reacting differently to influencing factors. Accommodation and food services roles continue to lag, while white-collar jobs, such as marketing, accounting, and engineering roles, are growing rapidly.

Tariffs, unsurprisingly, add another dimension to an already nuanced and complex Canadian labour market.

As business owners are well aware, disruption can lead to both challenges and opportunities. Finding the right people for your business may look different in 2025, but knowing the trends and influences can help you attract the workers you need to thrive. Bernard walks through top trends that may affect the way you post, recruit and hire in today’s environment.

5 insights for employers to consider in 2025

1. Economic uncertainty is causing some hesitation

Uncertainty is nothing new for Canadian business owners, but in 2025, tariffs have emerged as a leading source. “The Canadian economy is understandably very vulnerable to these moves,” says Bernard, noting that the unpredictability of tariffs is affecting the job market.

Recruitment, Bernard explains, is inherently forward-looking, and growing uncertainty is making it harder for businesses to plan ahead. “We’ve started to see manufacturing job postings slip, and mining postings are a little more volatile,” he says. “As two sectors that sell to the U.S., they’re understandably more exposed to the immediate impacts of tariffs.”

2. Degree inflation is narrowing the field

Another trend the Indeed team is seeing is degree inflation in the market. “We are seeing postings for jobs that require a bachelor’s or master’s degree when previously, this was not a requirement,” says Alexandra Tillo, Talent Marketing Consultant at Indeed. While an advanced degree is necessary for certain roles (e.g., in healthcare), the Indeed team encourages employers to consider whether a post-secondary degree is a prerequisite. “We are seeing very qualified candidates facing this barrier when they didn’t before.”

For employers struggling to find the right candidates, loosening such requirements may increase the recruitment pool.

3. Pay remains a top priority for job seekers

While wage growth skyrocketed immediately following the pandemic, Indeed Hiring Lab’s tracking reveals that year-over-year wage growth has settled down, running at roughly 2.8 per cent today (versus 5 per cent at its peak). Still, higher pay remains a top motivator for job seekers. “When we ask employed job seekers what they are looking for in a new job, higher pay always tops the list,” says Bernard.

To that end, an increasing number of employers are including pay information in their job postings. “Five years ago, it was maybe one in five. Now, it’s about half,” says Bernard. He cites B.C.’s mandate for salary transparency as a major driver of this shift, but not the only one. “We’ve seen this trend across the economy and in the world of HR. It’s information job seekers care about — they want to know whether it’s worth their time to apply.”

Other factors, such as the quality of the workplace, a sense of belonging, and the quality of managers, are important for talent attraction and retention. Bernard notes that these are crucial considerations for employers.

4. Location flexibility remains attractive

There has been considerable talk about return-to-office across the economy. But Bernard notes that the Indeed team isn’t seeing full-time return as a trend. Instead, a hybrid model remains popular. In fact, roughly 14 per cent of job postings mention either remote or hybrid work, and in job-seeker surveys, Indeed found that 88 per cent of workers say they will look for jobs offering flexibility in hours and location when searching for a new position. “The job doesn’t have to be remote. But location flexibility is still an important part of the job market. It’s a trend that I think is here to stay,” says Bernard.

5. AI isn’t playing a major role (yet)

Generative AI is causing both stress and opportunity in the workforce. When it comes to hiring, however, Indeed isn’t seeing AI appear in any meaningful way within job postings. “It’s pretty rare that employers are explicitly asking for AI experience or saying it will be a major part of the job,” says Bernard. While AI tools may be helping individual workers become more productive with certain tasks, he notes, they haven’t yet altered the workflow.

Bottom Line

While the Canadian workforce faces uncertainty in 2025, this shifting landscape also presents opportunities for both employers and job seekers who are ready to grow. Emerging trends are already reshaping the talent market, offering employers new ways to find the right people to succeed in the year ahead.

Source: Indeed Hiring Lab Data Portal