# Canada’s health workforce tops 1.7 million as vacancies ease > There were 67,900 vacancies in health occupations in 2025, and their vacancy rate remained above the national rate. - Canonical URL: https://newsverum.com/en/news/canada-health-workforce-exceeds-1-7-million-as-vacancies-ease - Publisher: Newsverum - Section: Health - Country: Canada - Published: 2026-10-20T23:01:22+00:00 - Updated: 2026-10-20T23:01:22+00:00 - Event / data period: 2025 - Other editions: [Türkçe](https://newsverum.com/tr/news/canada-health-workforce-exceeds-1-7-million-as-vacancies-ease.md), [العربية](https://newsverum.com/ar/news/canada-health-workforce-exceeds-1-7-million-as-vacancies-ease.md), [Français](https://newsverum.com/fr/news/canada-health-workforce-exceeds-1-7-million-as-vacancies-ease.md), [Español](https://newsverum.com/es/news/canada-health-workforce-exceeds-1-7-million-as-vacancies-ease.md), [Deutsch](https://newsverum.com/de/news/canada-health-workforce-exceeds-1-7-million-as-vacancies-ease.md), [Português](https://newsverum.com/pt/news/canada-health-workforce-exceeds-1-7-million-as-vacancies-ease.md) More than 1.7 million people worked in Canadian health occupations in 2025, up 81,200, or 4.9%, from a year earlier, Statistics Canada said in a study released October 19. Health occupations accounted for 8.2% of employment. The sector had 67,900 job vacancies, down from a 2023 peak of 90,700 but still nearly three times the 2016 level. The vacancy rate in health occupations eased to 4.5% in 2025, below its 6.3% peak in 2023 but above the 2.7% rate across Canada. Licensed practical nurses had a 12.3% vacancy rate. Employment figures come from the Labour Force Survey and vacancy figures from the Job Vacancy and Wage Survey; they are labour-market indicators and do not by themselves measure service capacity or health outcomes. ## Data ### Canada health workforce, 2025 Annual measures of employment and job vacancies in Canadian health occupations. Methodology: Employment is from the Labour Force Survey; vacancies and vacancy rates are from the Job Vacancy and Wage Survey. Health occupations follow Statistics Canada’s occupational classification. The vacancy rate is vacancies as a share of filled and unfilled positions; these measures describe employment and employer demand. | label | value | unit | period | basis | value_qualifier | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | People employed in health occupations | 1700000 | people | 2025 | observed | lower-bound | | Job vacancies in health occupations | 67900 | jobs | 2025 | observed | | | Job vacancy rate in health occupations | 4.5 | % | 2025 | observed | | | Job vacancy rate across Canada | 2.7 | % | 2025 | observed | | Sources: · Download data: [JSON](https://newsverum.com/api/v1/articles/canada-health-workforce-exceeds-1-7-million-as-vacancies-ease/data/canada-health-workforce-2025?lang=en&format=json) · [CSV](https://newsverum.com/api/v1/articles/canada-health-workforce-exceeds-1-7-million-as-vacancies-ease/data/canada-health-workforce-2025?lang=en&format=csv) ## Sources - [Statistics Canada]() (Source checked: 2026-10-20; Published: 2026-10-19) --- Cite the canonical URL above. [Editorial standards and corrections](https://newsverum.com/en/editorial)