Canadian Employment and Unemployment Both Increase Modestly in October

Statistics Canada (StatCan) on Friday (11-3-23) reported that in October, employment increased by 18,000 jobs, or 0.1%. This follows an increase of 64,000 jobs, or 0.3%, in September and 40,000 jobs, or 0.2%, in August.

The employment rate—the portion of the working-age population that is employed—declined 0.1 percentage points to a reading of 61.9% in October, as the population aged 15 and older in the Labor Force Survey (LFS) increased by 85,000, or 0.3%.

Since January, employment growth has averaged 28,000 per month, while growth in the population aged 15 and older in the LFS has averaged 81,000 per month. The employment rate of 61.9% in October was down from the recent peak of 62.5% in January but little changed from the October 2022 reading of 62.0%. Since July, the employment rate has varied between 61.9% and 62.0%.

In October, the unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage points to reach 5.7%. This marks the fourth monthly increase in the past six months. Since April, the rate has increased by 0.7 percentage points, after holding steady at a near-record-low 5.0% from December 2022 to April 2023.

There were 1.2 million unemployed Canadians in October, an increase of 171,000 or 16.2% since April. Among those who were unemployed in September, 60.1% remained unemployed in October—a greater proportion than 55.4% 12 months earlier (not seasonally adjusted), and an indication that job seekers are facing more difficulties finding employment than a year ago.