Monthly jobs and employment report, Canada

Employment increased +1.7% (+27,000) among core-aged women in August and holds steady across other demographic groups.

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Employment increased in educational services +1.7% (+27,000), health care and social assistance +0.9% (+25,000), finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing +0.8% (+11,000). Employment fell in “other services” -2.3% (-19,000), professional, scientific and technical services -0.8 % (-16,000), utilities -4.5% (-6,800) and natural resources -1.8% (-6,500).

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Every month, Adecco Canada interprets the data from Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey. Here’s what happened in August:

Employment holds steady, little overall change in August

In August, employment saw little change +0.1% (+22,000), as the employment rate fell 0.1 percentage points to 60.8%.

Unemployment rates increases to 6.6% in August

The unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage points to 6.6%, the highest rate seen since May 2017, outside pandemic levels. The unemployment rate has generally trended up since April 2023, rising 1.5 percentage points over this period.

Employment increases in Alberta, Nova Scotia, Manitoba, and Prince Edward Island

Employment in Alberta increased +0.5% (13,000) in August, followed by Nova Scotia +1.0% (5,000), Manitoba +0.6% (4,400) and Prince Edward Island +1.0% (900). Newfoundland and Labrador was the only province to record a decrease in employment in August -1.0% (2,400). Quebec and Ontario both saw little notable change in August.

Employment increases in educational services and health care and social assistance

In August, employment increased in educational services +1.7% (27,000), the first increase since January. Employment in health care and social assistance increased +0.9% (25,000). On the other hand, employment in “other services” decreased -2.3% (19,000), following five months of little change. Employment in professional, scientific and technical services fell -0.8% (16,000), despite monthly decline, the industry was up +2.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Unemployment rates on the in most large metropolitan areas

Among Canada’s 20 largest census metropolitan areas (CMAs), Windsor recorded the highest unemployment rate at 9.2% in August, followed by Edmonton (8.6%) and Toronto (8.0%). On the other hand, employment rates were the lowest in Victoria (3.3%) and Quebec (4.0%).

On a year-over-year basis, the unemployment rate nearly rose in all 20 of the largest CMAs, with the biggest increased in Winsor (+3.2 percentage points to 9.2%), Oshawa (+2.5 percentage points to 7.8%) and Edmonton (+2.4 percentage points to 8.6%).

Don’t have time for a long reading? We’ve summarized the key takeaways from this month:

• Employment saw little change in August +0.1% (+22,000), while the employment fell 0.1 percentage points to 60.8%.
• The unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage points to 6.6%.
• Employment increases in August were led by Alberta +0.5% (+13,000), Nova Scotia +1.0% (+5,000), Manitoba +0.6% (+4,400) and Prince Edward Island +1.0% (+900).
• Employment grew among core-aged women (25 to 54 years old) by +0.3% (+20,000) and held steady across other demographic groups.
• Employment increased in educational services +1.7% (+27,000), health care and social assistance +0.9% (+25,000), finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing +0.8% (+11,000).
• Average hourly wages increased 5.0% in August on a year-over-year basis, following growth of 5.2% in July.
• Total hours worked saw little change in August -0.1% but is up 1.4% compared to 12 months earlier.

References

Statistics Canada. (2022). Table 14-10-0287-01 Labour force characteristics, monthly, seasonally adjusted and trend-cycle, last 5 months [Data table]. https://doi.org/10.25318/1410028701-eng

Statistics Canada. (2022). Table 14-10-0355-01 Employment by industry, monthly, seasonally adjusted and unadjusted, and trend-cycle, last 5 months (x 1,000) [Data table]. https://doi.org/10.25318/1410035501-eng