Canadian Employment Statistics Quiz

Canadian Employment Situation October 2023

• Since January 2023, employment growth has averaged 28,000 per month, whereas the population aged 15 and older has grown by an average of 81,000 per month.
• The employment rate in October 2023 was 61.9%, down from 62.5% in January 2023 but similar to October 2022.
• Employment among men aged 55 and older increased by 31,000 in October, the first rise for this group since April.
• Core-aged (25 to 54) men and women saw little change in employment in October, with a slight increase in full-time employment for core-aged women offset by a decrease in part-time employment.
• Unemployment rate rose to 5.7% in October, marking the fourth increase in the past six months, with 1.2 million unemployed persons, up by 171,000 since April.
• Labour force participation rate in October was 65.6%, unchanged from the previous month and up by 0.2 percentage points from a year ago.
• The youth unemployment rate increased to 11.4% in October, with a rise of 2.7 percentage points among female youth and 1.8 percentage points among male youth since March.
• The youth unemployment rate was 2.4 times the rate for adults aged 25 to 54 in October, notably higher for racialized and Indigenous youth.
• Employment in construction increased by 23,000 in October, while employment in information, culture, and recreation rose by 21,000.
• Employment in wholesale and retail trade declined by 22,000 in October, the first decrease since October 2022, but was up by 49,000 on a year-over-year basis.
• Employment in manufacturing fell by 19,000 in October, but was little changed on a year-over-year basis.
• Employment in health care and social assistance remained little changed in October, with year-over-year growth similar to the average pace across all industries.

Canadian Labor Market and Household Financial Difficulties - October 2023

• Job vacancies in health care and social assistance remained stable compared to the previous year, with the second-highest vacancy rate in August 2023.
• Employment increased in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick in October, while it declined in Quebec.
• Alberta saw a 1.5% increase in employment, with significant gains in health care, manufacturing, transportation, and natural resources.
• In Quebec, employment fell by 22,000 in October, with the unemployment rate rising to 4.9%.
• Ontario's employment remained unchanged for the fourth consecutive month, with a 6.2% unemployment rate in October.
• Inflationary pressures have eased, with the Consumer Price Index growth decelerating from 8.1% in June 2022 to 3.8% in September 2023.
• In October 2023, 33.1% of Canadians lived in households experiencing financial difficulties, slightly down from the previous year but notably higher than in October 2020.
• People living in rented dwellings were more likely to face financial difficulties compared to those in owned dwellings.
• Among dual-earner households with children, 36.1% experienced difficulties, while the proportion increased to 45.5% in single-earner households with children.
• Nearly half (48.7%) of those living in lone-parent families with employed parents reported difficulties meeting financial needs, increasing to almost 7 in 10 (69.8%) for unemployed lone-parent families.
• Recent immigrants, South Asian, and Black Canadians were more likely to face financial difficulties compared to those born in Canada or of Chinese descent.
• Among the 20 largest CMAs in Canada, the highest proportions of persons living in households reporting difficulties meeting financial needs were in Southern Ontario, while the lowest were in Québec, Kelowna, and Gatineau.