Even though more people had paying jobs in Canada in August than during the previous month, most of those new jobs were part-time rather than full-time and the unemployment rate actually rose as the Canadian population swelled faster than employment growth.
“The unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage points to 6.6 per cent in August, after holding steady in July,” reports Statistics Canada.
“The unemployment rate in August was the highest since May 2017, outside of 2020 and 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The unemployment rate has generally trended up since April 2023, rising 1.5 percentage points over this period.”
There were more 22,000 jobs in August than in July. But that’s because there was a rise of 66,000 part-time jobs which offset the drop of 44,000 full-time jobs.
The statistical and demographic services agency suggests in its latest Labour Force Survey that those who are looking for paid work are having a harder time finding it.
“There were 1.5 million unemployed people in August 2024, an increase of 60,000, up 4.3 per cent, from July and an increase of 272,000, up 22.9 per cent, from August 2023,” reports Statistics Canada.
“Among those who were unemployed in July, 16.7 per cent had transitioned to employment in August (not seasonally adjusted). This was lower than the corresponding proportion in August 2023 (23.2 per cent), an indication that unemployed people may be facing greater difficulties finding work.”
Students – and particularly Black, Chinese and South Asian students – had a harder time finding summer employment this year, notes Statistics Canada.
“On average from May to August 2024, the unemployment rate for returning students aged 15 to 24 was 16.7 per cent, up from 12.9 per cent in 2023,” notes Statistics Canada.
“The unemployment rate for the summer of 2024 was the highest since 2012, when it was 17.6 per cent, excluding the summer of 2020.”
This past summer, Black students who were planning to go back to school in September had an unemployment rate of 29.5 per cent.
“This represents an increase of 10.1 percentage points compared with the same period in 2023,” notes Statistics Canada.
“The unemployment rate was also up in the summer of 2024 among Chinese students who intended to return to school full time in the fall, up 7.4 percentage points to 22.4 per cent and their South Asian counterparts, up 5.1 percentage points to 21.5 per cent.”
Alberta, Nova Scotia, Manitoba and Prince Edward Island Add Jobs
Across Canada, employment rose in Alberta by 13,000 jobs, in Nova Scotia by 5,000, in Manitoba by 4,400, and Prince Edward Island by 900 but dropped by 2,400 jobs in Newfoundland and Labrador.
“In Quebec, employment was little changed in August and the unemployment rate remained at 5.7 per cent. Employment in the province was also little changed on a year-over-year basis, while the number of people in search of employment grew by 67,000, up 32.7 per cent, pushing the unemployment rate up 1.3 percentage points,” reports Statistics Canada.
“Ontario also saw little employment change in August, following an increase of 22,000 jobs the previous month. The unemployment rate in Ontario increased 0.4 percentage points to 7.1 per cent in August, as more people searched for work.”
Perhaps unsurprisingly as the school year approached, employment rose by 27,000 in educational services, the first increase since January. But there were also 75,000, or 5.1 per cent, more people employed in this sector compared to a year earlier.
“In healthcare and social assistance, employment increased by 25,000, up 0.9 per cent, in August. In the 12 months to August, employment gains in healthcare and social assistance, up by 157,000 jobs or 5.8 per cent, were the largest of any sector and accounted for nearly half, or 49.6 per cent, of total net employment growth,” notes Statistics Canada.
Sectors which shed jobs in August included personal and repair services and professional, scientific and technical services.
Among Canada’s 20 biggest cities, Windsor saw the biggest rise in its unemployment rate at 9.2% in August, followed by Edmonton at 8.6 per cent and Toronto at eight per cent.
Unemployment rates were lowest in Victoria at 3.3 per cent and Québec at four per cent.
Despite all these changes, August saw the job situation for immigrants remain pretty much the same as it was in July.
“For recent immigrants (who had landed in Canada within the previous five years), average hourly wages were little changed at $30.59 down 1.3 per cent on a year-over-year basis in August. Among more established immigrants (who had landed in Canada more than five years earlier), average hourly wages rose 6.3 per cent in the 12 months to August, up $2.15 to $36.15,” reports Statistics Canada.
Canadians Saw Higher Average Wage Growth Than Immigrants In The Past Year
“In comparison, Canadian-born employees saw their average hourly wage increase by six per cent, up $2.04 to $35.83 per hour over the same period.”
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.
