Canadian job seekers looking for seasonal work have reason to celebrate this holiday season as hiring for temporary positions has rebounded significantly after several years of decline. According to new data from Indeed Canada, seasonal job postings have increased by 12% compared to last year, marking a positive shift in the temporary employment market.
Significant Reversal in Seasonal Hiring Trend
The employment platform's analysis reveals that job postings containing terms like "seasonal," "holiday" or "Christmas" in their titles showed notable growth as of November 4, 2025. This year-over-year increase represents a dramatic turnaround from 2024, when seasonal postings actually decreased by 15% compared to the previous year.
What makes this development particularly noteworthy is that the rise in holiday hiring comes amid generally flat overall job postings across the Canadian market. This combination has pushed the seasonal share of total job postings upward for the first time since 2022, indicating that employers are specifically seeking temporary workers for the holiday period.
Economic Factors Driving the Hiring Surge
Brendon Bernard, senior economist at Indeed Canada, points to several factors contributing to this unexpected rebound in seasonal employment. "2024 was especially weak on the holiday posting side, which, combined with a decent year for retail sales, could be some factors driving the uptick," Bernard explained in an interview.
The economist noted that Canadian retail sales have shown solid performance over the past year, with both overall sales and brick-and-mortar store revenues picking up toward the end of 2024. Additionally, Bernard observed that "more people are gradually coming out of the pandemic" and returning to in-person shopping experiences, creating increased demand for seasonal retail staff.
The timing of this seasonal hiring surge follows traditional patterns, with Canadian employers in retail and customer service sectors typically beginning their recruitment efforts in September. Hiring activity usually peaks around the end of October as businesses prepare for the busy holiday shopping season.
Context and Cautious Optimism
Despite the positive numbers, Bernard emphasizes that the market for seasonal workers "isn't particularly robust" when viewed in a broader context. The current figures remain 8% lower than seasonal hiring levels in 2023 and a substantial 35% below the peak reached in 2022.
The decline in holiday postings from 2022 to 2024 was part of a broader cooling in employer hiring following the intense recruitment period during and immediately after the pandemic. However, the break in this downward trend provides welcome news for Canadians seeking temporary employment around year-end.
The data shows a slight but meaningful increase in the seasonal share of Canadian job postings, rising from 1.23% at the start of November 2024 to 1.34% in 2025. While modest, this represents the first positive movement in this metric in three years.
Bernard expressed some surprise at the findings, noting that "things are a bit stronger this year, but last year was really weak. So it's not like the market is robust, but there's a bit of a bounce back in 2025 and that's something I wasn't necessarily expecting when I first took a look at the data."
For job seekers, this development offers improved opportunities for temporary employment during what is traditionally one of the most challenging times of year to find work. The rebound suggests that Canadian retailers and service providers are cautiously optimistic about consumer spending during the upcoming holiday season.
