The unemployment rate in Canada rose to 6.6 percent in August, the highest level since May 2017, excluding the pandemic lockdown years of 2020 and 2021, according to Statistics Canada. This represented a 0.2 percentage point increase compared to July’s rate of 6.4 percent. Despite the economy adding 22,000 new jobs, a report from TD Canada stated that this figure was overshadowed by a population growth of 96,000 people and a labor force growth of 82,500 new workers.
The recent unemployment figures raise questions about whether this is a temporary fluctuation in Canada’s economy or a warning sign of worsening employment and economic conditions. Gordon Betcherman, a professor emeritus at the University of Ottawa, believes that the post-COVID boom of low unemployment has ended due to the Bank of Canada raising interest rates and the economy slowing down.
Betcherman also mentioned that Canada’s unemployment rate was at its lowest in decades after the pandemic, but with increased immigration, the labor market is struggling to absorb new entrants, leading to higher unemployment. The economy’s growth in the first quarter of 2024 was only 0.4 percent, and while the country technically avoided a recession, unemployment rates have mirrored previous recessions.
Sectors that saw increases in employment in August included educational services, health care and social assistance, and finance, while “other services,” professional, scientific, technical services, utilities, and natural resources saw declines. Alberta saw a rise in employment but also an increase in the unemployment rate, while Nova Scotia, Manitoba, and Prince Edward Island experienced job gains. Newfoundland and Labrador was the only province to see a decline in employment during that period. Both Quebec and Ontario experienced minimal changes in employment levels. Among major cities in Canada, Windsor had the highest unemployment rate in August at 9.2 percent, followed by Edmonton at 8.6 percent and Toronto at 8 percent. Conversely, Victoria and Quebec City had the lowest unemployment rates at 3.3 percent and 4.0 percent, respectively.
Compared to the previous year, Windsor, Oshawa, and Edmonton saw the largest increases in unemployment rates. The unemployment rate in August increased for men aged 25 to 54 and men aged 55 and older, while other demographic groups saw little change.
On the other hand, compared to the previous year, the unemployment rate increased across all age groups, with the highest increase among youth aged 15 to 24. The core-aged population (25 to 54 years old) also experienced a rise in unemployment rate.
The latest statistics showed a net gain of 22,000 jobs in August, all of which were in part-time positions. The increase in part-time jobs was attributed to more students transitioning to part-time work as they returned to school.
Ottawa recently announced measures to reduce the number of temporary foreign workers in Canada, citing inappropriate levels of foreign workers in the current labor market. The federal government plans to limit temporary foreign worker applications in metropolitan areas with high unemployment rates and cap the percentage of foreign workers in the total workforce.
Experts believe that Canada’s increased immigration rate has impacted overall unemployment numbers. While the effects of these changes on the labor market are uncertain, it may take some time before they are fully realized. Can you please rephrase this sentence?
Source link
