Canada Unemployment Rate Jumped To 5.4%

September 9 – As summer comes to an end, the latest report from Statistics Canada shows a new evaluation of the employment and unemployment rates in Canada. The report highlights Canada’s increased unemployment rates for the first time in seven months to 5.4%.

In addition to information on wages, the number of working hours and sectors and provinces saw a decline in employment. This article delves into the Statistics Canada report released today and province-wise unemployment rate across Canada.

Employment rates declined in August 2022

The latest report from Statistics Canada shows that in August, employment fell by 40,000 (-0.2%), while the unemployment rate increased by 0.5 points to 5.4%.

In particular, employment declined among those aged 55 to 64 and young people (mainly young women) between the ages of 15 and 24 in August.

However, various industries’ experienced employment gains, such as professional, scientific, and technological services. In contrast, construction and educational services witnessed more decline in employment.

In addition, august saw a decrease in the number of people employed in the public sector (-28,000; -0.6%) while the number of people employed in the private sector and the number of self-employed people remained stable.

While comparing provinces, employment decreased in Manitoba, Nova Scotia, and British Columbia, and it increased in Quebec. The other provinces saw a minimal change.

Moreover, the total number of hours worked remains unchanged.

In terms of wages, the average hourly wage of employees increased by 5.4% to (+$1.60 to $31.33) in August. Compared to June and July, wages increased by 5.2%.

Province-Wise Unemployment Rate In Canada

Province	Unemployment Rate
Alberta	5.4%
British Columbia	4.8%
Manitoba	5.3%
New Brunswick	7.6%
Newfoundland and Labrador	10.5%
Nova Scotia	7.6%
Ontario	5.7%
Prince Edward Island	7.3%
Quebec	4.5%
Saskatchewan	4.9%

Canada Province-Wise Unemployment Rate – August 2022

Growth in unemployment for the first time in seven months

In August, the unemployment rate was 5.4%, an increase of 0.5 percentage points from the record low of 4.9% in June and July.

Due to the increased number of unemployed, the adjusted unemployment rate—considering persons who desired a job but did not look for one—rose 0.5 percentage points to 7.3% in August.

Other trends for August 2022

The report shows that more than 1 in 10 (11.9%) permanent employees plan to leave their jobs next year. Furthermore, there is a 5.5 percentage point increase from January 2022 to August following this trend.

Another trend is the increase in the number of retiring Canadians. Last year, there were 307,000 Canadians who left their job to retire, which is up from 233,000 one year earlier. Also higher than August 2019 that, had 273,000.

August 2022 (7.6%) saw the lowest unemployment rate for immigrants who had arrived in Canada within the previous five years since comparable statistics became available in 2006.

Another observation was unemployment rates for recent immigrants as they integrate into the Canadian labour market. Although immigration plays an essential role in economic growth, many new immigrations face challenges and take time to adjust to the Canadian labour market.

Source: Statistics Canada