Canadian Employment Increases by 64,000 in September; Unemployment Steady at 5.5%

Statistics Canada (StatCan) reported on Friday (10-6-23) that in September, Canadian employment rose by 64,000, or 0.3%. This follows an increase of 40,000, or 0.2%, in August. Since the beginning of 2023, employment has grown by 30,000 per month, on average.

The Canadian employment rate rose 0.1 percentage points to 62.0% in September, which offset the decline recorded in August. StatCan notes that the employment rate in September was little changed from September 2022 when it was at 61.9%. However, it was down 0.5 percentage points from the recent peak of 62.5% recorded in January.

The Canadian unemployment rate in September continued to hold steady at 5.5% for the third consecutive month, following an increase of 0.5 percentage points from April to July.