Ontario Construction News staff writer
More than 14,000 jobs were lost in the construction sector in June as Canada’s unemployment rate hits 5.4 per cent.
While employment was up in several industries including wholesale and retail trade, the latest Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey reports job losses in the construction sector.
Across Canada, according to Stats Can, employment increased by 60,000 positions in June, but after two months with little change, construction employment decreased by 14,000, about one per cent. Compared to last year, construction employment was unchanged in June.
Statistics Canada says the June increase in employment was the largest since January 2023 and most increases were full-time positions, with a gain of 110,000 workers – offset by a drop of 50,000 part-time positions.
However, the unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage points to 5.4% in June, following a similar increase (+0.2 percentage points) in May. The increase brought the rate to its highest level since February 2022 (when it was also 5.4%). There were 1.1 million people unemployed in June, an increase of 54,000 (+4.9%) in the month.
Employment increased in Ontario, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador in June, while there was a decline in Prince Edward Island. All other provinces recorded little change. For further information on key province and industry level labour market indicators, see “Labour Force Survey in brief: Interactive app.”
Following a decline in May, employment in Ontario resumed its upward trend in June (+56,000; +0.7%), with overall gains totalling 236,000 (+3.1%) since September 2022. The participation rate rose 0.3 percentage points to 65.9% in June and the unemployment rate increased to 5.7% (+0.2 percentage points) as the number of people searching for work edged up. In the Toronto census metropolitan area (CMA), employment increased by 42,000 (+1.1%).