Employment Rate In Canada Fell Again In February

Colin Singer
-
0
Employment Rate In Canada Fell Again In February

Are you a candidate with skills and qualifications in one of Canada’s 82 jobs for occupation-specific Express Entry draws? We want to help you move to Canada. Please submit your CV here.

The latest data from Statistics Canada reveals Canada’s employment rate nudged down a tenth of a percentage point in February as population growth continued to outstrip the increase in the number of people finding employment.

In its Labour Force Survey, February 2024, the statistical and demographic services agency indicates that employment rose by 41,000 that month but the Canadian population grew by three-tenths of a percentage point, driving down the employment rate to 61.5 per cent.

“The employment rate, the proportion of the population aged 15 and older who are employed, fell by 0.1 percentage points to 61.5 per cent in February,” reports Statistics Canada.

“This was the fifth consecutive monthly decline, the longest period of consecutive decreases since the six-month period ending in April 2009.

During the past year, the Canadian employment rate has fallen 0.9 percentage points from its peak of 62.4 per cent in February last year.

Read More Canada Immigration News

Canada Aims To Improve Lives Of Nurses With New Program
International Student Visa Allowance In Nova Scotia Reduced By A Third
Criticism Mounts Over Quebec Family Immigration Delays

“This downward trend is associated with rapid population growth, which has outpaced employment growth in the past year,” notes Statistics Canada.

Across the country, employment increased in Alberta, up 17,000 or 0.7 per cent, and Nova Scotia, up 6,300 or 1.2 per cent, while it declined in Manitoba, down 5,300 or 0.7 per cent.

There was little change in the other provinces.

February’s employment growth was largely driven by a 71,000 boost in the number of full-time jobs. In the past year, the number of people holding down full-time jobs has grown by 260,000 while the number of people with part-time work has increased by 108,000.

“Employment increased by 38,000, up 1.5 per cent, among self-employed workers in February, the first monthly increase since August 2023,” reports Statistics Canada.

Watch Video

When compiling statistics, Ottawa considers those aged 25 to 54 years old to be “core-aged”, meaning that age group is the most likely be gainfully employed and productive.

Among those who were core-aged in February, women did almost twice as well as the men at landing jobs.

“In February, employment rose among core-aged … women, up 45,000 or 0.7 per cent, and men, up 23,000 or 0.3 per cent, following little change for both groups the previous month,” reports Statistics Canada. “For core-aged women, this was the first increase in employment since September 2023.”

Women accounted for 47.3 per cent of the Canadian labour force in February with 9.7 million of them employed.

Canadian Women’s Employment Rate Still Above Pre-Pandemic Levels

“The employment rate of women aged 25 to 54 was 81.4 per cent in February, below the record high of 82 per cent reached in January 2023 and March 2023, but above the pre-pandemic average of 79.3 per cent recorded from 2017 to 2019,” reports Statistics Canada.

Across industry sectors, employment in accommodation and food services grew by 26,000, up 2.4 per cent, following a decline of 30,000 … in January. On a year-over-year basis, employment in this industry was little changed in February, and remained below its pre-pandemic level,” notes Statistics Canada.

“In February 2024, employment in accommodation and food services was down 7.9 per cent … compared with the 2017 to 2019 average.”

Employment in professional, scientific, and technical services rose by 18,000 in February, and employment also increased by 11,000 in “other services”, a category which includes personal and repair services.

Educational services shed 17,000 jobs, manufacturing cut back on 14,000, business, building, and other support services slashed 13,000 jobs and the number of people employed in agriculture fell by 6,000.

Canadian employers hoping to attract workers through economic immigration can recruit them through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) and the International Mobility Program (IMP).

The Global Talent Stream (GTS), a part of the TFWP, can under normal processing situations lead to the granting of Canadian work permits and processing of visa applications within two weeks.

Employers can also bring in foreign nationals to fill available positions through the Express Entry system, which receives immigration applications online.

It powers the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSW), Federal Skilled Trades Program (FST), and Canada Experience Class Program (CEC) which all draw from the Express Entry pool of candidates. Those with the required Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) scores are then sent Invitations to Apply (ITAs) in regular draws.

Canada Aims To Improve Lives Of Nurses With New Program

Colin Singer
-
0
Canada Aims To Improve Lives Of Nurses With New Program

Are you a candidate with skills and qualifications in one of Canada’s 82 jobs for occupation-specific Express Entry draws? We want to help you move to Canada. Please submit your CV here.

Canada has launched a new toolkit for nurses that addresses the challenges of on-the-job stress, anxiety, depression and even abuse which is causing so many of these healthcare professionals to burn out.

The Nursing Retention Toolkit: Improving the Working Lives of Nurses in Canada program, which comes in the wake of growing efforts in Canada to recruit healthcare professionals through immigration programs, focuses on eight core themes with corresponding initiatives that employers of nurses can implement to help improve retention.

Read More Canada Immigration News

Canada Launches Two New Pilots, To Make RNIP Permanent
British Columbia Issues 156 Canada Immigration Invitations In New PNP Draw
Alberta Targets Healthcare Workers With 33 Canada Immigration Invitations

The Nursing Retention Toolkit’s eight core themes are:

  • flexible and balanced ways of working;
  • organizational mental health and wellness supports;
  • professional development and mentorship;
  • reduced administrative burden;
  • strong management and communication;
  • clinical governance and infrastructure;
  • inspired leadership, and;
  • safe staffing practices.

“Nurses are the backbone of our health care system, yet too many in Canada are struggling with their mental health, experiencing burnout, distress and feeling overworked, and unappreciated, causing them to leave their jobs,” said Dr. Leigh Chapman, Canada’s chief nursing officer.

“This toolkit provides nursing leadership and health system administrators with an opportunity to contribute first-hand to making changes in our health care system, including improving mental health and wellness supports for nurses so they can stay mentally, emotionally and spiritually healthy, and so that they can keep caring for us.”

In last year’s federal budget, Ottawa announced plans to invest close to $200 billion to improve healthcare, including support to the healthcare workers retention, recruitment, and planning.

“We need to work together to make sure that nurses in Canada’s healthcare system are supported and get more health workers into the system, faster,” said Health Minister Mark Holland.

Watch Video

Part of the federal government’s plan to boost the healthcare workforce is an improved foreign credential program for healthcare workers.

In January, Ottawa announced it would invest an extra $86 million into 15 projects across the country to boost the country’s capacity to recognize the foreign credentials of roughly 6,600 internationally-educated health professionals.

“Healthcare workers deliver the care that Canadians need. By bringing in new workers and retaining those who are already there, we can help relieve the labour challenges in our healthcare system,” said Holland.

“This federal funding supports our government’s work with provinces, territories, and stakeholders to have more healthcare workers enter Canada’s workforce and to streamline that process.”

The funded projects aim to:

  • reduce barriers to foreign credential recognition for internationally-educated healthcare professionals by improving the recognition processes, simplifying steps in credential recognition and offering increased access to practice in the field;
  • provide internationally-educated healthcare professionals with relevant Canadian work experience in their intended fields, while incorporating wrap-around supports such as childcare and transportation costs, as well as mentoring and coaching, and;
  • facilitate labour mobility between jurisdictions in Canada for healthcare professionals and internationally-educated healthcare professionals to reduce the systemic and administrative barriers for healthcare professionals who wish to work in other jurisdictions within Canada.

That financial shot in the arm was to provide funding to  key occupations like nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, laboratory technicians and respiratory therapists. Through this investment, internationally trained midwives will be able to take their exams virtually, even before they arrive in Canada.

Jim Lai, president of the Association of Canadian Faculties of Dentistry, was thrilled.

“The Association of Canadian Faculties of Dentistry is thrilled to receive this support from the federal government to fund the development and testing of a new program to speed up the qualification and licensing of dentists trained elsewhere in the world so they can practice in Canada,” said Lai.

“With the government’s recent introduction of the new Canadian Dental Care Plan, and its policy of increasing immigration into Canada, there are plans to both help Canada’s poorest and most marginalized people gain access to dental care and to integrate internationally-trained dentists into Canada’s healthcare workforce.”

Canada’s Foreign Credential Recognition Program aims to:

  • develop and strengthen Canada’s foreign credential assessment and recognition capacity;
  • contribute to improving labour market integration outcomes of skilled newcomers, and;
  • support interprovincial labour mobility.

“Honouring the professional credentials of newcomers is a compassionate and effective component of expanding Canada’s workforce,” said Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault.

Occupation-Targeted Express Entry Draws Will Boost Healthcare Workforce

“The Foreign Credential Recognition Program speeds up the accreditation for 6,600 people and is not only the right thing to do but one of the best ways we can fill labour gaps, strengthen our healthcare system and grow our economy.”

The latest funding for foreign credential recognition came in the wake of other investments by Ottawa to support newcomers so they can participate in Canadian society, including the Settlement Program managed by Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

In May last year, Canadian immigration also launched its occupation-targeted draws through three Express Entry streams, including the Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) program, Federal Skilled Trades (FST) program and Canadian Experience Class (CEC), as well as parts of the Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP).

Canada’s Express Entry system can now target 82 jobs in healthcare, technology, trades, transport and agriculture and so there is now a new pathway to immigration for nurses, orderlies and other healthcare workers.

The majority of Canada’s provinces have also been issuing occupation-specific invitations for several years but the labour shortages in the healthcare system persist.

“Retention and burnout are some of the most pressing issues facing our industry today and we were honoured to have been involved in the development of the toolkit,” said Terri Irwin, chief nursing executive at Trillium Health Partners.

“To invest in nurses, ensuring that they are supported physically and emotionally in reaching their full potential, is to invest in the well-being of our communities for generations to come.”

International Student Visa Allowance In Nova Scotia Reduced By A Third

Colin Singer
-
0
International Student Visa Allowance In Nova Scotia Reduced By A Third

Nova Scotia’s international student visa allowance has been reduced by 35 per cent, as announced during the Province House’s debate on the provincial budget.

Nova Scotia’s advanced education minister Brian Wong told the sub-committee on supply that the province has received the total count on international student applications it can allow for the 2024-25 school year, which is 12,900, and is to be shared by universities, NSCC, private career colleges, and language schools.

This is a drop of 7,000 applications from last year, and is in alignment with Ottawa’s target of reducing international student applications by 35% across Canada, according to The Hamilton Spectator.

On January 22, IRCC Minister Marc Miller announced an intake cap on international study permit applications to stabilize growth for a temporary period of two years. For 2024, the cap is expected to result in approximately 360,000 approved study permits.

IRCC also announced that individual provincial and territorial caps have been determined, weighted by population, which will result in much more significant decreases in provinces where the international student population has seen the most unsustainable growth.

Read More Canada Immigration News

Canada Launches Two New Pilots, To Make RNIP Permanent
British Columbia Issues 156 Canada Immigration Invitations In New PNP Draw
Alberta Targets Healthcare Workers With 33 Canada Immigration Invitations

The announcement by Wong is one of the first public revelations regarding the federal government’s provincial allocations.

All designated learning institutions in Nova Scotia will be sharing the 12,900 quota, but Wong did not detail how this number will be divided – whether every school gets an equal share, for example, or if it is weighted by another factor such as the school’s enrolment numbers or international student population.

While DLIs just learned about the 12,900 figure, the province has till the end of this month to determine the allocation.

NS universities welcomed 14,500 international students in 2023-24, while the country as a whole was home to more than 1 million international students.

Watch Video

Canada has introduced many measures recently to ensure the International Student Program works for in-coming students.

This includes: 

  • Updating the cost-of-living requirement, which was introduced on January 1 for study permit holders to better reflect the “true” cost of living in Canada and help prevent vulnerability and exploitation;
  • Requiring post-secondary DLIs since December 1 to confirm every letter of acceptance submitted by an applicant outside Canada directly with IRCC;
  • Intending to implement targeted pilots aimed at helping underrepresented cohorts of international students pursue their studies in Canada in 2024.
1...252627...820Page 26 of 820