Labour

Tight construction labour markets persist in August as labour force growth modestly outpaces employment gains After contracting slightly in July, employment increased by 40,000 (0.2%) in August. Since January, employment has increased by 174,000 (+0.9%) – or by 25,000 on average per month. The LFS data also shows that August’s increase in employment was outpaced by population growth (+103,000; +0.3%). As a result, the national, all-industry employment rate, which is the proportion of the population aged 15 and older who are employed, fell 0.1 percentage points to 61.9%. Canada’s overall unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.5%. This follows consecutive [...]

Construction hits new highs in labour force and employment Labour shortages facing the construction industry have made some progress over the last year. Employment gains over the past 12 months have been greatest in Quebec and Ontario. The provinces reported growth of 20,600 and 12,400 in their respective employment figures since June 2022. The advance was driven by gains in full-time work (+110,000, +0.7%). Employment gains were most significant among young men aged between 15 and 24 years and among those in the core working-age demographic of between 25 and 54 years. Both groups added 31,000 workers for the [...]