Statistics Canada data shows that immigrants have a high rate of employment

Statistics Canada has released the Labour Force Survey data for October 2022. Overall, the rate of unemployment has recovered from increases over May-September but is still consistent with September at 5.2%.

The biggest gains in employment were in manufacturing, construction and accommodation and food services while employment decreased in wholesale and retail trade, as well as in natural resources. Most new jobs were within the private sector, which is the first time the private sector has seen an increase in employment since March 2022.

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Immigrants are successful at finding employment

The release of the 2021 census data on immigration showed that 23% of Canada's population is an immigrant. The census defined immigrants as people who are or have ever been a landed immigrant or permanent resident.

The survey shows that immigrants have been successful in finding employment and filling some of the gaps in Canada’s labour force. Just over 62% of immigrants aged 15 and over are employed. It was also found that immigrants who arrived in Canada over the past five years had an employment rate of 70.7%, a higher rate than October 2019, pre-pandemic.

Most new jobs are full-time

The employment gain in October was exclusively seen in full-time work (there were decreases in part-time employment, but full-time employment gains offset the total losses). There were 119,000 full-time positions filled, boosting the rate of full-time employment by 3% over October 2021.

The rate of part-time employment has remained consistent, but there has been a shift as over the past 12 months, men have been more likely to find full-time employment than women, experiencing a growth rate of 3.9% while the increase is at 1.9% for women.

The rate of women with part-time employment has risen since last October by 5.7%.

Employment increases for both genders occurred mainly in the core working age group of 25-54 years old. However, men of core working age gained somewhat more full-time work between September and October this year at 0.7% for men and 0.4% for women.

Young women aged 15-24 have seen a decrease in their rate of employment, down 1.7% from September and landing at a total unemployment rate of 10.5%.

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Raises for top 25% of wage earners

Wages over all sectors were up an average of 5.6% since October 2021. The report says that six in ten employees who had been with their employer for at least 12 months had received a raise over the previous year.

The survey found that 64.3% of employees with wages over $40 an hour had received a raise but only 50% of employees received a raise if they made less than $20.

The lowest proportion of employees who had received a raise worked in agriculture, 47.2%, and accommodation and food services at 49.7%. These are two industries that typically have hourly wages below the national average. Additionally, 53.6% of those employed in healthcare and social services received a raise. Wage growth in this sector has been slow, rising 0.9% year-over-year.

Employment is up in six provinces

Most new employment occurred in Ontario, Quebec, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.

Ontario had the largest increase in employment with 43,000 positions filled, mainly in part-time work. The biggest gains were within the accommodation and food sectors as well as the professional, scientific and technical services sector. The overall rate of unemployment is consistent with September at 5.9%.

Quebec also showed some significant growth with 28,000 positions filled. Overall gains were mainly full-time and within construction, finance, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing. The province has an unemployment rate of 4.1%.

Prince Edward Island saw some significant gains in employment in the wake of Hurricane Fiona, which caused considerable damage to the province. Employment increased by 4,300 positions.

Hybrid positions are still prominent

The study found that 1.7 million Canadians are working in a hybrid position, meaning they split their work week with some time in the office and some time remotely from home. Hybrid arrangements have increased between January and October.

The largest number of hybrid jobs are within the finance, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing sector, up to 21.7%. Additionally, nearly 16% of public administration and 17.9% of professional, scientific, and technical services are also hybrid positions.

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