Description: Serves as an early indicator of labour market conditions by measuring changes in the demand for labour from help-wanted ads published in selected metropolitan area newspapers

Who/what is surveyed: Analysis of 22 newspapers from across Canada (excluding the Yukon and Northwest Territories)

How the data is collected: Measure help-wanted advertisement volume in the classified sections of 22 major metropolitan area newspapers

Geographic detail: Canada and five regions (Atlantic, Quebec, Ontario, Prairies and British Columbia) and metropolitan areas surveyed

Information collected:
1. help-wanted advertisements

Frequency: Monthly

Sample size: 22 newspapers

Data availability: data are available from 1981 onwards

Reference period: the Saturday of the Labour Force Survey reference week (usually the week including the 15th day of the month)

Release dates: usually the first week following the reference month

What makes the data valuable: 1. the only labour demand indicator published on a regular basis by Statistics Canada

Products and services:

1. Monthly releases in The Daily.

2. Help-wanted Index, 1981-1998 (Catalogue no. 71-540-XIB)
3. Articles in Perspectives on Labour and Income,Catalogue no. 75-001-XPE, quarterly paper edition and Catalogue no. 75-001-XIE, monthly online edition.
4. CANSIM (Canadian Socio-Economic Information Management System), Statistics Canada’s publicly accessible database; for further information, please call: (613) 951-8200
5. Indices are available for the metropolitan areas surveyed.

Responsible division: Labour Statistics