As Canada’s labour force slightly declines, employment increases

As Canada's labour force slightly declines, employment increases

The domestic labour market is still contracting despite an increase in employment and a minor drop in unemployment in Canada.

In September, the country's unemployment rate decreased by 0.2% to 5.2%.

While the September Labour Force Survey from Statistics Canada showed encouraging employment gains, worries about an ageing population and an increase in retiree departures from the workforce lingered in the background.

British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Yukon, and Nunavut all experienced increases in employment in September, while Ontario, Prince Edward Island, and the Northwest Territories experienced minor decreases.

Employment climbed for women in Canada's core-aged population (25–54) and held flat for men in the same age group.

These continue to be mostly encouraging indicators for overall economic success and the robust hiring environment Canada is presently experiencing.

Losses in manufacturing, information, culture, and entertainment, transportation and warehousing, and public administration more than offset gains in employment for educational, health, and social support services.

A steady return to pre-pandemic business levels has been assisted by increases in the service sector businesses, which are a reflection of higher post-pandemic expenditure in these areas.

Additionally, Canadian job seekers were working for shorter periods of time, with a steep fall of 9.7% (18,000) in long-term employment (the number of people who have been continually unemployed for 27 weeks or more).

This is yet another promising indicator of a favourable hiring environment.

The country's labour market will continue to be most concerned with the need to resolve an excessive number of open positions, as observed since July.

Even if these continue to be favourable economic performance indicators and point to potential in Canada, there are certain longer-term patterns that are less encouraging.