Job gains in Alberta offset by losses in Quebec
The number of Canadians who were out of work rose again for the fourth time in last six months, reaching a rate of 5.7% in October.
Even though more construction (23,000) and information, culture and recreation (21,000) jobs were created, for those in wholesale and retail trade and manufacturing, there were losses of 22,000 and 19,000 less positions, respectively.
The number of workers rose by 18,000, although this represented a lower rate versus 64,000 new positions created in September and August, which saw gains of 40,000. Overall employment was 0.1% more jobs over last month.
“Employment might have ticked up in October but overall it was a disappointing month for the labour market. The current pace of population growth requires strong job gains to keep up, and that’s not what came through. The result was a rise in the unemployment rate, after holding steady over the summer,” says Brendon Bernard, senior economist at Indeed.
The rate of employment — which checked in at 61.9% in October — was tempered by population gains of those 15 and older that was up by 85,000. When it came to growth by gender, the rise of 14,000 new jobs for men also saw 19,000 less jobs for females in the 15 to 24 category.
According to the latest figures from Statistics Canada in their monthly labour force survey, Alberta led provincial numbers in growth of 38,000, whereas Quebec saw 22,000 less jobs last month.
“The silver lining from the labour market’s perspective is that the cooldown is starting from a relatively strong place. Nonetheless, the historic job seeker’s market that emerged from the pandemic is fading. The question heading into next year is how long the current funk persists and whether it morphs into a more severe economic contraction,” says Bernard.
While the negative numbers were highlighted for most, one segment saw good news as for men 55 and older, there was a gain of 31,000 new jobs. This was the first rise in numbers for that segment since April, says Stats Can.
The latest uptick in unemployment continued a trend that has been ongoing since April as well, as the rise of by 0.7 percentage points since then. This followed a steady rate of 5% since December last year.
The bleak news continued for many as 1.2 million unemployed persons last month grew by 171,000 workers. This as the participation rate remained steady at 65.6%, which is 0.2% on a year-over-year basis.
In September, there were 64,000 new jobs but a steady unemployment rate of 5.5% was recorded.
Salaries continue upward numbers
Hourly wages continued its positive trend recently, rising by 4.8%, up $1.56 per hour to $34.08 in October, which was slightly less that the 5% boost registered in September.
“Overall, the numbers are in line with other data, like recent GDP readings, showing a stalled economy. Wage gains remained solid on a year-over-year basis, but it remains to be seen how long this will last, particularly as employer hiring appetite cools steadily. As of late October, job postings on Indeed were down 27% from a year earlier, with declines apparent in most sectors,” says Bernard.
The good news on salaries was tempered by increases in the cost of shelter (6%) and food (5.9%) which beat that annual growth of wage rates, that checked in 5% in September, according to the CPI figures for the same period.
