The average number of job vacancies across Canada was up by 22,000 in the three months ended in May.

Statistics Canada says there was an average of 258,000 job vacancies over that period. That's more than the figure during the same period a year earlier.

Job vacancy data is not seasonally adjusted and should only be compared on a year-over-year basis, the agency says.

There were 5.5 unemployed people for every job vacancy in May, down from 6.3 in May 2011. The decline in that ratio was caused by a combination of two factors — more job postings, but also a decline in Canada's official unemployment rate.

Nationally, the national job vacancy rate was 1.8 per cent over the three-month period ending in May. That's up from 1.7 per cent a year earlier.