The best places in Canada to land jobs in April were Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec and New Brunswick which collectively added 74,800 jobs, or 83.1 per cent of all new jobs in the country.
In its Labour Force Survey, April 2024, Statistics Canada reveals the biggest beneficiaries of the uptick in jobs in April were teenaged boys and young men and middle-aged men with middle-aged women seeing a smaller increase in jobs.
“In April, employment rose among core-aged men 25 to 54 years old, up 41,000 jobs or 0.6 per cent, and women, up 27,000 jobs 0.4 per cent, as well as for male youth aged 15 to 24, up 39,000 jobs or 2.8 per cent,” notes the statistical and demographic services agency.
“There were fewer women aged 55 and older employed, down 16,000 jobs or 0.8 per cent, while employment was little changed among men aged 55 and older and female youth aged 15 to 24.”
After six months of declines, that growth in jobs was enough to stem the tide and keep the employment rate steady at 61.4 per cent in April.
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The national unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.1 per cent that month.
Among visible minorities in Canada, though, the employment picture has been worsening over the past year.
“In each of the three largest racialized groups in Canada, the unemployment rates for those of core working age 25 to 54 years old were up on a year-over-year basis,” reports Statistics Canada.
“In the 12 months to April, the unemployment rate rose by 4.4 percentage points to 11.2 per cent for core-aged Black Canadians, by 2.1 percentage points to 6.8 per cent for core-aged South Asians, and by 1.3 percentage points to 7.5 per cent for core-aged Chinese Canadians.”
The unemployment rate for Caucasians during the same period closed at 4.2 per cent by April.
In April, there was an increase in the number of jobs in the professional, scientific and technical services as well as in accommodation and food services and in healthcare and social assistance.
“In professional, scientific and technical services, employment increased by 26,000, up 1.3 per cent, in April, following a decrease in March,” notes Statistics Canada.
“There were more people working in accommodation and food services, up 24,000 or 2.2 per cent, in April, largely offsetting a decrease in March … Employment in healthcare and social assistance increased by 17,000, up 0.6 per cent in April … building on an increase of 40,000 … in March.”
The fastest employment growth in the past year has been among people working in hospitals. That rose by 9.8 per cent over the last year, followed by social assistance services which is up 8.6 per cent and nursing and residential care facilities which have seen 8.3 per cent growth in employment.
The remote work trend which took off during the COVID-19 pandemic seems to be moderating across Canada with employers increasingly requiring their workers to come to the worksite or connect to a work device on short notice.
“In April … more than one in four workers, 28.4 per cent, … indicated that they had to come into work or connect to a work device at short notice at least several times a month. Proportionally more men, 30.5 per cent, reported having to do so than women, at 26.2 per cent.”
Employers Keeping Tighter Rein On Remote Workers
While the self-employed have a greater ability to choose when they work, they were more likely than employees in April to have to work or connect to a work device at short notice several times a month or more.
“Workers in management occupations, including legislative and senior managers … and specialized middle management occupations in healthcare … were particularly likely to have to go into work or connect to a work device at short notice at least several times a month,” notes Statistics Canada.
Canadian employers hoping to attract workers through economic immigration can recruit them through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) and the International Mobility Program (IMP).
The Global Talent Stream (GTS), a part of the TFWP, can under normal processing situations lead to the granting of Canadian work permits and processing of visa applications within two weeks.
Employers can also bring in foreign nationals to fill available positions through the Express Entry system, which receives immigration applications online.
It powers the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSW), Federal Skilled Trades Program (FST), and Canada Experience Class Program (CEC) which all draw from the Express Entry pool of candidates. Those with the required Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) scores are then sent Invitations to Apply (ITAs) in regular draws.
