Canada’s employment rate rose in September in a turnaround from the previous month, as it added 64,000 Canada jobs.
In Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey, September 2023, the statistical and demographic services agency of the federal government notes the employment rate, defined as the proportion of the population aged
15 and older who are employed, rose 0.1 percentage points to 62 per cent in September.
That offset a decline of 0.1 percentage points in employment the previous month.
The biggest changes in employment in September were among those described by Statistics Canada as being core-aged, or the most likely to hold down jobs. Those are people aged 25 to 54 years of age
“Employment increased among core-aged … women, up 37,000 employed people or 0.6 per cent, and men, up 32,000 people or 0.5 per cent, while it was little changed for youth aged 15 to 24 and people aged 55
and older,” reports Statistics Canada.
Across the country, only two provinces saw a net drop in employment in September. New Brunswick saw a drop of 2,700 employed workers and employment dropped by 38,000 workers in Alberta.
Throughout the rest of the country, employment rose in six provinces in September, led by Quebec which gained 39,000 employed workers and British Columbia which saw an employment gain of 26,000. Employment
increased by 8,800 in Manitoba, 6,000 in Saskatchewan, 3,200 in Nova Scotia and 2,700 in Prince Edward Island.
As students headed back to classrooms across the country, employment in educational services spiked by 66,000, or 4.5 per cent, in September, offsetting a decrease of 44,000, or 2.9 per cent in August. From May to
September, employment in education services rose by 26,000, or 1.8 per cent, continuing an upward trend started in September 2022.
After adding 13,000 jobs in August 2023, employment in the transportation and warehousing sector rose by another 19,000, or 1.8 per cent, in September.
“Since January, the number of people employed in transportation and warehousing has increased by 82,000,” notes Statistics Canada.
“The increase accounted for over one-third, or 34.4 per cent, of net employment growth across all industries over this period.”
The sectors which shed jobs in September included finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing where employment dropped by 20,000 jobs, or 1.4 per cent, and construction, where employment fell by 18,000
jobs or 1.1 per cent after rising by 2.2 per cent in August.
Information, culture and recreation also saw a drop in employment, shedding 12,000 jobs as the summer tourism season came to an end.
