Canada’s employment rate fell despite the number of people with jobs rising by 40,000 in August, as the country’s population grew even faster.
More than one in 20 Canadian residents is now working more than one job.
“With a higher cost of living, taking on additional work may be a necessity for some workers to meet essential financial needs such as mortgage or rental payments and groceries,” reports Statistics Canada, the statistical and demographic services agency of the federal government.
“In August 2023, about one million people – or 5.4 per cent of the employed – held multiple jobs, virtually unchanged from a year earlier.”
Women are more likely to hold down more than one job than are men, with 6.2 per cent of female workers in Canada having multiple jobs compared to only 4.7 per cent of men.
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Immigrants admitted to Canada less than 10 years ago held down more than one job in 6.9 per cent of cases with the multiple jobholder rate above average among Blacks at 7.4 per cent and Filipino at eight per cent of workers.
In its Labour Force Survey for August, Statistics Canada notes that while employment rose by 0.3 per cent that month, Canada’ population grew by 103,000 people, or 0.3 per cent.
That pushed the employment rate, defined as the proportion of the population aged 15 and older who are employed, down 0.1 percentage points to 61.9 per cent.
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“Employment increased among core-aged men, up 33,000 jobs or 0.5 per cent and women, up 21,000 positions or 0.3 per cent aged 25 to 54 years, while employment declined among women aged 55 and older, down 27,000 jobs or 1.3 per cent,” reports Statistics Canada.
The biggest winners in August were young women and teenaged girls while their male counterparts suffered the greatest job losses.
“Employment for female youth increased, rising by 32,000 positions or 2.4 per cent, while it declined among male youth, dropping by 29,000 jobs or 2.1 per cent,” notes Statistics Canada.
Alberta, British Columbia And Prince Edward Island Added Jobs In August
Across the country, Alberta added 18,000 jobs, British Columbia, 12,000 and Prince Edward Island another 1,800. Nova Scotia, though, shed 3,600 positions.
The construction sector and professional, scientific and technical services were good areas of the economy for job growth in August.
“Employment in professional, scientific and technical services increased by 52,000, up 2.8 per cent, in August, offsetting a cumulative decrease of 36,000 from March to July,” notes Statistics Canada.
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“The gain in August was the first significant increase in the industry since December 2022. On a year-over-year basis, employment in the industry was up by 67,000 in August 2023, and this included an increase of 20,000 in computer systems and design and related services.”
The construction sector added 34,000 jobs, up 2.2 per cent, in August and so partially offset the shedding of 45,000 jobs in July.
“Compared with 12 months earlier, employment in this industry was little changed in August. While there were fewer people working in construction in British Columbia, down 33,000 jobs or 13.5 per cent, in August 2023 than in August 2022, there were more people working in construction in Quebec, up 19,000 positions or 6.3 per cent,” reports Statistics Canada.
After seeing employment growth of 19,000 jobs in July, the educational services sector lost 44,000 jobs in August but was still up by 37,000 jobs compared to the same time last year.
Manufacturers also shed 30,000 jobs in August with employment in that sector falling by 1.6 per cent.
Four Sectors Of The Economy Shed Jobs In August
“This decrease partially offset the cumulative increase of 40,000 from May and June, making the number of people employed in manufacturing little changed from August 2022,” notes Statistics Canada.
In other sectors of the economy, employment fell in the finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing industries by 16,000 jobs, or 1.1 per cent, and in agriculture by 11,000 jobs or four per cent during the same month.
The work-from-home trend that exploded during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic now seems to be on the wane.
“The proportion of workers who usually work exclusively from home was 13.6 per cent in August 2023, down 3.2 percentage points compared with August 2022,” notes Statistics Canada.
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“Over the last 12 months, the largest declines in the share of workers working exclusively from home were recorded in public administration, down 11.9 percentage points to 20.8 per cent, finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing, down 7.9 percentage points to 30.2 per cent, and professional, scientific and technical services, down 6.5 percentage points to 40.8 per cent,” reports Statistics Canada.
In August, 10.3 per cent of workers, or 2.1 million Canadians, had a hybrid work arrangement, working partly from home and partly from a location other than their homes. This was similar to the proportion recorded in May 2023 (10.0%) but was up 1.7 percentage points compared with August 2022 (8.6%).
Wages Up 4.9% And Hours Worked 0.5% In August
On a year-over-year basis, the average hourly wage rose 4.9 per cent in August and the total hours worked increased 0.5 per cent that month, bringing the year-over-year increase up to 2.6 per cent.
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.
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