Canada’s job market sees modest gains in October

November 26, 2024

In October, Canada’s labour market grew by just 15,000 jobs (+0.1%), a minor gain that was largely offset by population growth, leading to a 0.1 percentage point decline in the employment rate to 60.6%.

The unemployment rate held steady at 6.5%, echoing the minimal gains from September and reflecting a labour market facing mounting pressures as population growth continues to outpace job creation, says Statistics Canada in its Labour Force Survey.

The labour force participation rate fell by 0.1 percentage points to 64.8%, marking its fourth monthly decline since May.

This decline was largely driven by population aging and slowed labour market demand, pushing participation to its lowest point since 1997 (excluding pandemic years).

Brendon Bernard, senior economist at Indeed, described October’s report as “more of the same” for the Canadian job market, emphasizing that job creation continues to lag behind Canada’s rapid population growth.

Shifts in youth employment, challenges for older workers
Youth employment (ages 15-24) saw a 33,000 (+1.2%) increase in October, led by gains among male youth (+25,000; +1.8%), says Statistics Canada. While this group’s employment rate rose slightly, it remains down by 2.7 percentage points from October last year.

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