Employment increases in October, but labour markets remain constrained

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©CAN STOCK PHOTO WELCOMIA

Statistics Canada has reported an increase in employment across the country in October.

Seasonally adjusted data shows a 0.6 per cent increase across industries, including, construction. Statistics show employment levels equal to the peak in May 2022.

Labour Force Survey (LFS) shows immigrants and permanent residents are finding employment and filling job vacancies. At 62.2%, the employment rate of immigrants aged 15 and older was at its highest-ever level and at 70.7%, the employment rate for people admitted to Canada within the last five years was 5.6 percentage points higher than October 2019.

The all-industry unemployment rate held steady at 5.2% across Canada, 0.3 percentage points above the record low of 4.9% in June and July.

Construction labour markets are tight, even though workloads are slowing – permit data reported by Statistics Canada showed a drop in the value of building permits of 22% in September compared to the previous month.

Construction employment increased by 11,000 (0.7%) to 1.585 million in October, while the labour force added 13,600 workers (0.8%) to reach nearly 1.64 million. Nationally, industry employment increased 6.9% over October 2021.

October marks the third month in a row in which construction’s unemployment rate has increased. The rate grew from 3.1% in September to 3.2% in October. Even taking the increase into account, labour markets remain historically constrained. The national unemployment rate remains below 2021’s low of 3.7% and well below the five-year average of 4.6% for October.

Five provinces reported unemployment rates below the national figure in October: Manitoba (3.1%), Ontario (2.7%), Quebec (2.4%), British Columbia (2.1%) and Prince Edward Island (1.3%). Newfoundland and Labrador (15.1%), New Brunswick (7.8%), and Saskatchewan (5.7%) all reported rates above the national figure.

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