Visible minorities bucked the national trend as they landed more Canada jobs in May, as the country-wide unemployment rate nudged up to 5.2 per cent, the first monthly increase since August, according to the latest Labour Force Survey.
“Among the three largest racialized population groups in Canada, the unemployment rate fell by 0.6 percentage points on a year-over-year basis for South Asian Canadians,” the Statistics Canada report said.
“It was little changed for Chinese … and fell by 1.3 percentage points for Black … Canadians.”
Men and women aged 25 to 54 years old – the age group Statistics Canada calls core-aged – also saw their employment prospects improve in May.
There were 43,000 more of these men with jobs in May, the second consecutive month in which this demographic group saw an improvement in their employment situation. In April, employment among core-aged men had risen by 18,000 from the month of March.
Women of that age also saw a boost in employment in May with 19,000 more of them landing jobs.
Read More Canada Immigration News
International Students In Canada: Top 10 Most Important Source Countries
Canada Express Entry To Begin Occupation-Based Draws Targeting 82 Jobs
British Columbia Has Plenty Of Opportunities For Internationally Trained Truck Drivers
The overall drop in employment – and rise in the unemployment rate – in May was primarily due to the lower numbers of youth 15 to 24 years old holding down jobs.
“Among all youth aged 15 to 24, including students and non-students, employment fell by 77,000, down 2.8 per cent, in May, with declines observed for young women, whose employment fell by 43,000 jobs or 3.2 per cent, and young men, who employment declined by 35,000 jobs, or 2.5 per cent,” reports Statistics Canada.
“The youth employment rate was 57.6 per cent in May, down two percentage points from the recent high of 59.6 per cent reached in March and April and offsetting a net increase of 1.9 percentage points recorded from September 2022 to April 2023,” noted the federal agency.
Are you an employer looking to hire foreign workers in Canada? Immigration.ca can help through its sister company, skilledworker.com. We provide a comprehensive recruitment package to help you identify and hire the best individuals from abroad. Contact us now.
“The youth employment rate in May fell 1.8 percentage points on a year-over-year basis and was comparable to the pre-COVID-19 pandemic average from 2017 to 2019 at 58.2 per cent.”
It was too soon in May to know what the employment picture might be like for students working during the summer months because many of them were by then still in class.
Across the country, Ontario, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador shed jobs in May, while there was an increase in Manitoba. All other provinces recorded little change.
In Ontario, employment decreased by 24,000 jobs that month, following a net increase of 205,000 positions from September 2022 to April 2023. The unemployment rate in the province increased 0.6 percentage points to 5.5 per cent in May.
If you are a candidate looking for a Canada job, or an employer looking to recruit foreign talent from abroad, immigration.ca can help. Access our expertise through our in-house recruitment enterprise skilledworker.com, “the leader in foreign recruitment”.
“Following two months of little change, employment in Nova Scotia decreased by 5,200, down one percentage point, in May,” reports Statistics Canada.
Despite the drop in the number of Nova Scotians holding down jobs, the unemployment rate in that Atlantic Canada province still fell due to a drop of Nova Scotians in the labour force.
“There were (4,200) fewer people employed in Newfoundland and Labrador in May … following two consecutive months of little change,” reports Statistics Canada.
Manitoba Added 8,200 Jobs In May
“Manitoba saw employment growth of 8,200 … in May, the third increase in four months. Alberta and British Columbia, both of which experienced wildfires during the Labour Force Survey reference week, saw little overall employment change in May.”
In the francophone province of Quebec, employment was little changed for the fourth consecutive month in May and the unemployment rate at four per cent remained just above the record low of 3.9 per cent reached in January 2023 and November 2022.
Although there were 31,000 jobs shed in business, building and other support services and another 13,000 lost in professional, scientific and technical services, the manufacturing sector added 13,000 jobs, the other services category another 11,000 jobs, and the utilities added 4,200 workers.
Watch Video
“On a year-over-year basis, average hourly wages rose 5.1 per cent, up $1.61 to $33.25, in May, reports Statistics Canada.
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.