The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that as of early November, holiday job postings on Indeed Canada were down 30 per cent from last year. The Globe's Matt Lundy writes in the Decoder column that the swoon is part of a broader cooling off in the labour market, which has seen the unemployment rate climb to 5.7 per cent from a record low of 4.9 per cent last year. Total job vacancies have tumbled 32 per cent from peak levels in 2022, but remain higher than before the pandemic. As a share of total postings, holiday job ads are not as prevalent as in the years before COVID-19. This could reflect "a shift to e-commerce sales [and] changes in foot traffic at large urban malls," says economist Brendon Bernard. Another issue is that households are pulling back on purchases to cope with higher interest rates, clouding the holiday shopping season. Last week, Canadian Tire laid off 3 per cent of its staff as it contends with weaker discretionary spending. On the flip side, job searches for holiday positions were stronger than in recent years. Mr. Bernard said this could "be a sign that job seekers aren't as confident finding work elsewhere, at a time when the overall economic outlook is subdued."