Industries with the Highest Growth in Employment in Canada in 2024

1. E-Commerce & Online Auctions in Canada

Employment Growth for 2024: 9.6%

The E-Commerce and Online Auctions industry in Canada comprises retailers that primarily sell their products online. Accelerated by the rising number of internet and mobile connections, industry revenue is expected to post strong gains, increasing at an expected CAGR of 17.6% to $31.7 billion over the past five years, including an expected increase of 7.7% in 2023 alone. The exceptional rate of growth in this industry is aided in part by increasing internet traffic volume like the number of fixed broadband and mobile connections. Additionally, the coronavirus created a unique opportunity for the industry to benefit from consumers not being... Learn More

2. Tour Operators in Canada

Employment Growth for 2024: 9.0%

Canadian tour operators have been extremely volatile in recent years. With the domestic economy's expansions prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, international trips taken by Canadians increased. Greater international exposure for the Canadian tourism industry, coupled with overall global economic growth, motivated more foreigners to visit and book tours in Canada, leading to increased inbound international travel. The COVID-19 pandemic shocked the global tourism sector, with countries closing borders, government authorities keeping only essential businesses open and strict travel restrictions being put in place. Many travellers cancelled their trips while people that were planning trips ended up delaying them indefinitely, decimating... Learn More

3. Snack Food Production in Canada

Employment Growth for 2024: 8.2%

Canadian snack food producers make potato and corn chips, pretzels, roasted and salted nuts, peanut butter, popcorn and other snacks. Producers have benefited from increased demand through the end of 2023 as discretionary income levels increased. Higher consumer spending has boosted sales of potato and tortilla chips, nuts and seeds. Buyers also tend to purchase more expensive and healthier products as they have more to spend on snack foods, supporting profit. While many industry products are unhealthy and demand for such goods has slowed, many companies have developed new products to attract health-conscious consumers. Revenue has risen a CAGR of... Learn More

4. Travel Agencies in Canada

Employment Growth for 2024: 8.1%

Travel agencies have struggled due to COVID-19, and the rise of internet travel booking has interfered with the core services of travel agencies. Online travel agents now play a larger role alongside traditional brick-and-mortar businesses. Most agencies suffered in 2020 as governments imposed restrictions on travel, leading revenue to fall at a CAGR of 7.7% to $1.9 billion through the end of 2023, including a 11.5% increase in 2023 alone.

This has led to an unprecedented level of cancellations. Despite the economy showing signs of recovery in 2021, the overall travelling industry continued to endure difficulties. While many countries continued vaccinating... Learn More

5. Semiconductor Machinery Manufacturing in Canada

Employment Growth for 2024: 7.9%

Semiconductor machinery manufacturers supply capital equipment for various processes in semiconductor manufacturing. While semiconductors have become the foundation of nearly every technology today, years of outsourcing semiconductor manufacturing put Canada in a weak position globally. Rising import penetration has been specifically challenging to the domestic industry. East Asian countries dominate semiconductor production, where enormous scale, massive R&D investment and lower-cost labour make it near impossible for domestic manufacturers to compete.But, an explosion in semiconductor demand during the COVID-19 pandemic led to supply shocks, boosting machinery purchases from domestic and foreign manufacturers expanding production volume. High interest rates and concerns about... Learn More

6. Glasses & Contact Lens Manufacturing in Canada

Employment Growth for 2024: 7.6%

The Glasses and Contact Lens Manufacturing industry in Canada produces eyeglass lenses, frames, and protective eyewear. Several of the industry's product segments are essential to the visually impaired, somewhat insulating the industry from economic downturns. While rising per capita disposable income has enabled consumers to increase expenditure on glasses and contacts, competitively priced imports satisfy a significant portion of consumer demand for industry products. Although COVID-19 hindered the overall economy, IBISWorld projects revenue to continue expanding as industry products are considered an essential health expenditure for many consumers. As a result, IBISWorld projects industry revenue will increase at an annualized... Learn More

7. Optometrists in Canada

Employment Growth for 2024: 7.3%

Despite experiencing intensifying competition from online ophthalmological goods retailers, Canadian optometrists have grown in recent years. Demand has been driven by a burgeoning elderly population and increased awareness of the importance of eye health. Increased advertising has benefited optometry practices as several provincial organizations implemented advertising campaigns to raise public awareness of the potential hazards of purchasing online eyewear products. One potential hazard is the product's incorrect prescription, which could negatively affect eyesight.

In addition to a changing competitive landscape, optometrists have had to adapt to a new regulatory environment. For example, in British Columbia, the deregulation of prescription eyewear permitted... Learn More

8. Market Research in Canada

Employment Growth for 2024: 6.1%

Market research operators in Canada endured wild swings in revenue growth due to a sharp incline in economic volatility and dampened demand for market research services. Between 2018 and 2019, operators endured a decline amid mixed economic conditions and a changing media landscape. In 2020, COVID-19 presented an additional disruption to demand for operators' services, as uncertainty clouded the outlook. Although the economy reopened, a spike in inflationary pressures severely harmed revenue in 2021 and 2023, as corporate clients endured volatility across their balance sheets, which dampened demand for operators' services. This economic volatility also dampened profit for operators, with... Learn More

9. Scheduled Air Transportation in Canada

Employment Growth for 2024: 5.8%

Canadian airlines performed well prior to the COVID-19 pandemic as rising levels of disposable income enabled more consumers to purchase airline tickets, while a relatively weak Canadian dollar has encouraged inbound travel from foreign consumers visiting Canada. The pandemic caused many airlines to suspend international service, while governments imposed social distancing guidelines to prevent the spread of coronavirus, severely constraining industry revenue in 2020 and 2021, which went below one-third of 2019 levels. Airlines have bounced back strongly from the pandemic as a vaccine enabled the travel to begin to normalize, a process that will continue in the coming years.... Learn More

10. Natural Gas Distribution in Canada

Employment Growth for 2024: 5.3%

Natural gas distributors in Canada, including gas distribution utilities, gas marketers and brokers are expected to suffer over the five years to 2023 as a result of highly volatile world and domestic prices of natural gas. Revenue has fluctuated in line with changes in natural gas prices, although the rates paid for natural gas by downstream consumers haven't been as volatile. The world price of natural gas has exploded in recent years as a complicated operating environment in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic pushed prices to record highs, which has aided profit. Revenue is forecast to decline at a... Learn More