According to Statistics Canada’s most recent Labour Force Survey (November 2022),
In November, employment increased by 10,000, and the unemployment rate fell by 0.1 percentage point to 5.1%.
Employment increased among women aged 25 to 54, while it decreased among young men aged 15 to 24. The other major demographic groups saw little change. In November, the employment rate for core-aged women reached a new high of 81.6%.
Finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing; manufacturing; and information, culture, and recreation all saw increases in employment. Concurrently, it fell in several industries, including construction, wholesale and retail trade.
While employment in Quebec increased, it fell in five other provinces, including Alberta and British Columbia.
Employee hourly wage growth remained above 5% for the sixth consecutive month in November, increasing 5.6% (+$1.71 to $32.11) over November 2021. (not seasonally adjusted).
Following a 0.7% increase in October, total hours worked were little changed in November. Total hours worked increased by 1.8% over the previous year.
More than one in ten (11.2%) workers were employed in the retail trade industry in November 2022. (not seasonally adjusted).
Over the last year, one-third (33.5%) of Canadian workers aged 25 to 54 participated in some form of training outside of the formal education system, such as courses, seminars, conferences, or private lessons (not seasonally adjusted).
Full-time work up in November
The number of people employed on a full-time basis increased by 51,000 (+0.3%) in November. Since November 2021, when full-time employment first surpassed its pre-COVID-19 pandemic level, full-time work has grown by 460,000 (+2.9%), concentrated among core-aged men (+212,000; +3.5%) and women (+169,000; +3.4%). Notable year-over-year gains in full-time work were also seen among young men aged 15 to 24 (+49,000; +6.8%).
In the year to November, the share of workers working full-time increased by 0.8 percentage points to 81.9%.
Part-time employment, on the other hand, remained unchanged for the sixth consecutive month in November, falling by 91,000 (-2.5%) year on year. Since November 2021, part-time employment has declined primarily among core-aged men (-48,000; -11.8%) and young men (-25,000; -4.4%). The decreases in wholesale and retail trade (-50,000; -5.6%) and transportation and warehousing (-44,000; -26.1%) were concentrated across industries (not seasonally adjusted).
Average hourly wage growth holds steady in November
Employee hourly wage growth remained above 5% for the sixth consecutive month in November, rising 5.6% (+$1.71 to $32.11) year on year. Except for parts of 2020 and 2021, when average wages were impacted by large pandemic-related changes in the composition of employment, June 2022 was the first month in which year-over-year wage growth exceeded 5% since comparable data became available in 1997. (not seasonally adjusted).
