Canada’s labour market finally exceeded pre-pandemic levels last month, as the end of the federal government’s income support programs spurred new hiring.
According to the latest Labour Force Survey published by Statistics Canada, the country’s labour market added an additional 153,700 new jobs in November, significantly exceeding the 37,500 increase forecast by economists polled by Bloomberg. The latest figures put employment levels 1% above the February 2020 pre-pandemic level, as the unemployment rate dropped from 6.7% to 6% last month.
November’s data marks the sixth consecutive month of job gains, as employment levels rose across both the goods-producing and services-producing industries. In fact, the majority of last month’s gains were concentrated in the health care, retail trade, and professional services subsectors, while manufacturing led the gains in the goods-producing sector.
However, the proportion of Canadians still working from home remained relatively unchanged for the third consecutive month at 23.5% in November, suggesting that remote work opportunities may become permanent despite the economic recovery.
The latest employment data comes just as the Liberal government withdrew its flagship income support program in October, prompting hundreds of thousands of Canadians to return to the workforce. A large part of the decline in last month’s unemployment levels was among individuals that were unemployed for more than 52 weeks. Moreover, the figures also illustrate that the country’s economy is reaching full employment, suggesting that policy makers will likely phase out pandemic-related monetary measures.
“Labor markets are tightening sharply, and that positions the Bank of Canada to hike earlier than we had expected,” said CIBC economist Royce Mendes to Bloomberg. The Canadian dollar jumped more than 0.3% to around $1.28 against the US dollar.
Information for this briefing was found via Statistics Canada and Bloomberg. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
