In November, Canada saw job growth beyond the expected numbers. Moreover, the unemployment levels have been reduced to match the pre-pandemic numbers. The recent labour force data reflects that Canada is progressing well towards full economic recovery.
This November, around 154,000 new jobs were created in the economy, against the prediction of 38,000 made by analysts, which was more in line with October’s figures. Employment opportunities expanded by a percentage point as compared to the times before the pandemic because of November’s job growth. Furthermore, unemployment reduced to 6%, which differs around 0.3 percent points when compared to February 2020 level.
The data from Labour Force Survey by Statistics Canada showed the conditions of Canada’s labour market between the span of November 7 to 13. During the last month, most of the public health precautions, including the proof-of-vaccination policies, have remained mostly unmodified since October.
Canada experiencing labour shortages despite growing Employment
The dominant role in employment growth was played by the private sector in November, including both full-time as well as part-time job positions. Despite that, there are various sectors, such as retail, health care, and hospitality, which are still struggling due to workforce shortages. In the month of September, there were around one million job vacancies on the country level.
The majority of government financial aid measures for COVID-19 came to an end in late October, which may have driven people to accept job offers, suggested some economists. The Canadian Recovery Benefit was also one of the financial assistance measures, which had been in question. It is considered that the benefit was deterring individuals from coming back to jobs. The Conference Board of Canada further added that insufficient growth in wages was a greater barrier, specifically in the service industries with lesser pay.
Here is what economists wrote about this employment surge:
Economist Liam Daly wrote, “November’s job growth suggests the withdrawal of the [Canadian Recovery Benefit] may have pushed some workers back into employment though alone this will not be sufficient to address the significant labour shortages affecting several industries.”
RBC economist Nathan Janzen wrote that even after November’s employment surge, a few service sectors still see exceptionally low levels of the workforce. Janzen further wrote, “Employment in accommodation & food services edged up 5k from October but is still more than 200k below pre-shock levels. Travel and hospitality spending has been rebounding, but with the unemployment rate now substantially lower, it is increasingly clear that there are not enough remaining unemployed workers out there to re-fill all of those jobs any time soon.”
