Stability. This is the word that best describes the employment situation in Canada which prevailed in October 2021. There was little variation in the number of people working at home, in the number of young men employed or in the rate of employment. long-term unemployment.
Statistics Canada’s most recent Labor Force Survey reports the unemployment rate down 0.2 percentage points to 6.7% in October, its lowest level in 20 months.
Retailing saw the largest increase, adding 72,000 jobs, while food and accommodation services continued to lose jobs, down 27,000.
Employment increased primarily in Ontario and New Brunswick, while it declined in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. In Quebec, after advancing in September, employment was virtually unchanged with an unemployment rate of 5.6.
In addition, full-time employment has increased for both men and women in the core working age group. Self-employment continues to decline and is at its lowest level since 2007. Wages are up 5.1% from two years ago. Interestingly, two-thirds of the unemployed who return to work do so in the sector of their last job.
Federal supports for employers and individuals, such as the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, the Canada Emergency Rent Grant, the Canada Economic Stimulus Benefit and other programs, ended on October 23, but new, more targeted aid programs will be created.
New jobs and layoffs
In Montreal, the European firm Dialectica, which specializes in financial information, has announced that it will create some 400 jobs in five years, which represents nearly half of its workforce worldwide.
But meanwhile in Ottawa, cannabis producer Hexo announced the closure of three recently acquired facilities and the layoff of around 155 workers as part of efforts to centralize its production.
Labor shortage
Employers who juggle with mandatory vaccination measures at face-to-face work continue to face a labor shortage, which slows down their activities, in Quebec, among others.
According to a recent survey conducted on behalf of the human resources consulting firm ADP Canada, the managers of nearly one in two Quebec SMEs (44%) say they have difficulty recruiting. This proportion is significantly higher than that in effect in the other Canadian provinces, the national average being 33%.