Monthly jobs and employment report, Canada

Employment among youth aged 15 to 24 fell by -1.0% (28,000) in March, while among core-aged men, employment rose by +0.3% (20,000). Among core-aged women, employment was virtually unchanged while employment held steady for both women and men aged 55 and older.

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Employment in accommodation and food services fell by -2.4% (-27,000), followed by wholesale and retail trade by -0.8% (23,000), despite an increase in January employment in this industry has generally trended down since August 2023. Employment in professional, scientific, and technical services fell -1.0% (-23,000), offsetting the increase in February +0.9% (+18,000). Employment in health care and social assistance increased by 1.5% (+40,000), followed by construction by +1.0% (+15,000), and finance, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing by +0.8% (+11,000) and utilities by +2.8% (+4,300).

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

Employment rates fall for the sixth consecutive month

In March, employment was virtually unchanged -0.0% (2,200), following increases in February +0.2% (+41,000) and January +0.2% (+37,000). The employment rate fell by 0.1 percentage points to 61.4%.

Unemployment rates rise to 6.1%

As the population continues to grow at a fast pace, the unemployment rate increased 0.3 percentage points to 6.1% in March, offsetting the decline recorded in January. This increase in unemployment rates in March was driven by an increase of +4.8% (60,000) people search for work or on temporary layoffs. This brought the total number of unemployed people to 1.3 million, an increase of +23.0% (+247,000) compared to the past year.

Employment declines in Quebec, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba in March

Following five consecutive months of little change, employment in Quebec fell by -0.4% (-18,000) in March, followed by Saskatchewan -1.0% (-6,000) and Manitoba -0.6% (-4,300). Employment in Ontario increased +0.3% (26,000), the second increase in three months. In the 12 months to March 2024, the employment rate in Ontario fell 1.4 percentage points to 60.7% as total employment grew by 1.1% (+86,000), while the working-age population in the LFS grew by 3.6% (+453,000).

Employment falls in three industries, led by accommodation and food services

In March, employment fell by -2.4% (-27,000), following little change from a year earlier, was down by -9.6% (-118,000) from its pre-pandemic level of February 2020. Employment in wholesale and retail trade fell by -0.8% (-23,000), followed by professional, scientific, and technical services by -1.0% (-20,000), offsetting an increase in February 0.9% (+18,000). Employment in health care and social assistance increased by +1.5% (+40,000) in March, followed by construction by +1.0% (+15,000), finance, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing by +0.8% (+11,000) and utilities by +2.8% (+4,300).

Unemployment rate increases more for core-aged Black Canadians

In the past 12 months, the unemployment rate rose 3.9 percentage points to 10.8% among core-aged Black Canadians. This comes with increases among both core-aged Black men +5.5 percentage points to 10.6% and women +2.4 percentage points to 11.1%.

Over the same period, the unemployment rate increased by 1.8 percentage points to 6.7% for core-aged South Asian Canadians and 1.1 percentage points to 7.2% for core-aged Chinese Canadians. Among the non-racialized, non-Indigenous population of core working age, the unemployment rate increased 0.5 percentage points to 4.4% over the 12-month period ending in March 2024.

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

• Employment saw little change in March (-2,200; -0.0%) and the employment rate fell 0.1 percentage points to 61.4%.
• The unemployment rate rose 0.3 percentage points to 6.1% in March.
• Employment increase was led by Ontario +0.3% (+26,000), while it decreased in Quebec -0.4% (-18,000), Saskatchewan -1.0% (-6,000) and Manitoba -0.6% (-4,300).
• Employment declined among youth aged 15-24 -1.0% (28,000), while it rose among core-aged man +0.3% (+20,000).
• Employment increased were led by health care and social assistance +1.5% (+40,000). While employment in accommodation and food services fell by -2.4% (-27,000), followed by, wholesale and retail trade -0.8% (-23,000) and professional, scientific, and technical services -1.0% (-20,000).
• Average hourly wages rose 5.1% on a year-over-year basis by +$1.69 ($34.81).
• Total hours worked saw no change in the month but were up 0.7% compared to the past 12 months.

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