Job changing rate lowers for Canadian workers: StatCan

Canadians seem to be finding the prospect of jumping from one employment to another less appealing, according to a recent Statistics Canada (StatCan) report.

Overall, 6.1% of permanent employees report that they are planning to leave their job in the next 12 months, down from 6.9% in January 2024.

The job changing rate – which measures the proportion of workers who remained employed from one month to the next but who had changed jobs – stands at 0.4%.

This is lower than the corresponding proportion in January 2024 (0.5%) and lower than the pre-pandemic average for January from 2017 to 2019 (0.7%).

“Changing economic conditions can impact the number of employees who intend to leave their job,” says StatCan. “As labour market conditions cool and the perceived likelihood of finding new employment decreases, employees may be more likely to seek stability in their current job. While the unemployment rate in Canada has declined in the last two months, it was higher in January 2025 (6.6%) than 12 months earlier (6.1%).”

Overall, employment in Canada rose by 76,000 (+0.4%) in January 2025, marking the third consecutive month of job gains. 

Breakdown of workers changing jobs

This is true even in high-stress occupations such as those in health care, according to StatCan.

In fact, the proportion of permanent employees in health occupations who intend to leave their job in the next 12 months is 1.7 percentage points lower than a year earlier (4.8% compared with 6.5% in January 2024).

Also, just 9.3% of permanent employees who became permanent residents in the previous five years intend to leave their job in the next 12 months, down from 11.6% in January 2024.

In comparison, 5.8% of their counterparts who were born in Canada indicate that they intended to leave their job in the next 12 months, down from 6.7% in January 2024.

Overall, 38% of professionals have either started or are planning to start searching for a new job in the first half of this year — down from half in July 2024, according to a previous report from Robert Half.

What can be done to improve employee retention?

According to StatCan, dimensions of quality of employment, such as income and benefits, can have an impact on employee retention and intention to leave a job.

“For example, in January 2025, employees in sales and service occupations (9.0%) were the most likely to report planning to leave their job in the next 12 months, and also had the lowest average hourly wages ($23.21) among major occupational groups.”

Here are five strategies that can help reduce turnover and boost retention, according to ADP:

1. Foster flexible work.
2. Consider competitive pay.
3. Demonstrate a commitment to environmental, social and corporate governance initiatives while providing new training and upskilling options.
4. Create an authentic culture: Workers are “looking for employers who don't expect staff to be carbon copies of one another but instead trust employees as trained and talented adults who are committed to getting their work done on time”.
5. Make trust a true priority. Employees who trust their team leaders are more likely to be engaged and are much less likely to seek other employment.

While US President Donald Trump’s tariffs threat against Canada did not hinder employers’ desire to look for more talent, it may have raised fears among job seekers, according to a previous Indeed report.