Canada Unemployment Rate Drops To Lowest Since 1976

Canada immigration news: A lot more younger adults and working-age women landed full-time jobs in Canada in May, driving up the country’s employment figures and pushing down the unemployment rate to a new record low.

“Canada added 40,000 jobs in May,” tweeted Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough. “Our employment rate is now 5.1 per cent, the lowest rate since 1976, when this data was first collected. With 117 per cent of the jobs recovered from the pandemic, Canada’s economy isn’t just recovering, it’s growing.”

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That very tight labour market has many employers desperate to find workers.

The ratio of unemployed people to job vacancies reached an all-time low of 1.2 in March, reports Statistics Canada.

“One potential source of labour supply is those who are not actively participating in the labour force but report that they want to work,” reports the statistical and demographic services agency. “In May, there were 409,000 of these potential workers.”

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What Are The Labour Force Survey Highlights?

Unemployment rate (%)	5.1
Employment rate (%)	61.9
Labour force participation rate (%)	65.3
Number unemployed	1,057,800
Number working	19,640,300
Youth (15-24) unemployment rate (%)	9.8
Men (over 25) unemployment rate (%)	4.5
Women (over 25) unemployment rate (%)	4.2

Source: Statistics Canada

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Temporary Foreign Workers And Immigrants Sought By Canadian Employers To Fill Jobs

Other obvious sources of workers for Canadian employers, though, are immigrants and temporary foreign workers.

Employers hoping to hire a foreign national can avail themselves of this international talent and labour 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.

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Read More Canada Immigration News

Immigrants Getting Better Jobs Post-COVID In Ontario
Canada Has More Jobs Than Before COVID-19, BMO Economist Says
Canada’s Booming Tech Sector Means Plenty Of Jobs For Skilled Immigrants

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Applicants who meet eligibility criteria submit an online profile known as an Expression of interest (EOI), under one of three federal immigration programs or a participating provincial immigration program, to the Express Entry Pool.

The candidates’ profiles then are ranked against each other according to a points-based system called the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). The highest-ranked candidates are considered for ITAs for permanent residence. Those receiving an ITA must quickly submit a full application and pay processing fees within a delay of 90 days.

Certainly, Canada is bullish on immigration.

After hitting a record-breaking level of immigration, with 405,970 new permanent residents to the country last year, Canada announced it would welcome 431,645 permanent residents this year, 447,055 next year, and 451,000 in 2024.

Number Of People Working In Canada Rose In May After Pausing In April

Ottawa has also vowed since then to accept an unlimited number of Ukrainians fleeing their war-torn homeland to seek refuge in Canada. In its first two weeks of existence alone, the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET) pathway was flooded with more than 112,000 applications.

The new pathway allows Ukrainians to stay in Canada for up to three years and be eligible for free open work and study permits.

None of them should have any trouble finding work in Canada.

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Unemployment Rates In Canada’s Provinces

	Jobs change in last month	Unemployment rate (%)
British Columbia	5,100	4.5
Alberta	27,500	5.3
Saskatchewan	1,500	4.8
Manitoba	-500	4.7
Ontario	1,900	5.5
Quebec	5,100	4.2
New Brunswick	-3,900	7.1
Nova Scotia	-2,100	6.7
Prince Edward Island	1,100	7.8
Newfoundland & Labrador	4,100	10.0
CANADA	39,800	5.1

Source: Statistics Canada

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“Employment growth resumed in May after pausing in April,” states Statistics Canada in its most recent Labour Force Survey. 

“Total employment increased by 40,000, up 0.2 per cent, in May, including strong growth in full-time work, up by 135,000 jobs or 0.9 per cent. Part-time employment dropped by 96,000, or 2.6 per cent.”

Women were the big winners in May, driving much of the employment gains, while the job picture remained virtually unchanged for men.

“Among women in the core working ages of 25 to 54, full-time employment rose by 63,000, up 1.2 per cent, in May, while part-time work fell by 41,000, down four per cent,” notes Statistics Canada. 

“Similarly, for young women aged 15 to 24, full-time gains, up 53,000 jobs or 10 per cent, were greater than the part-time losses of 37,000, a drop of 4.8 per cent.”

There Are Now More Jobs In Canada Than Before The COVID-19 Pandemic

Since the start of the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, total employment has risen by 1.1 million jobs or 5.7 per cent. 

By May this year, there were 497,000 more jobs than before the start of the pandemic in February 2020.

“Canada’s economy is on a clear, steady path of growth,” tweeted Qualtrough. 

“For months, our unemployment has been dropping, and our job creation has been increasing. And now, Canada has the highest projected GDP increase in the G7.”

The driver of job creation in May was the services-producing sector where jobs rose by 81,000 across several industries.

The accommodation and food services sector added 20,000 jobs. Professional, scientific and technical services grew by 21,000 positions. And the education sector picked up 24,000 jobs while retail added another 34,000. 

There were losses, though, in the transportation and warehousing sector, which shed 25,000 jobs, and finance, insurance and real estate, rental and leasing, which saw 19,000 fewer positions.

After plateauing in April, the overall employment in the goods-producing sector fell in May by 41,000 jobs.

Across the country, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island and Alberta added jobs in May while New Brunswick lost them. 

“In Newfoundland and Labrador, employment rose 4,100 jobs in May, the third increase in four months,” reports Statistics Canada. “Prince Edward Island also saw an employment increase in May of 1,100 jobs.

Alberta added 28,000 jobs that month.

“New Brunswick was the lone province with a drop in employment in May, down 3,900 partially offsetting gains in March and April.”