Canada’s jobless rate fell in April to another record low

May 6, 2022

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OTTAWA –

Statistics Canada reports that the April jobless rate dropped to a new record low. Employment was little affected for the month, with a gain in employment of 15,300 jobs.

The April unemployment rate was 5.2%, compared to the record low of 5.3% in March.

Doug Porter, Bank of Montreal chief economist saidModerate gains in employment are a sign of more normal conditions. However, it could also indicate that there is an increasing supply of workers and that this may be starting to restrict growth.

In a note to clients, he stated that “for the Bank of Canada this will not do anything to dissuade their tightening path” and did not include headline inflation of seven percent.

“The ongoing calmness in wages is one piece of news that could help limit how much the Bank eventually needs to raise.”

The unemployment rate dropped to its lowest level since 1976. This is a result of the 15,000 increase in jobs in scientific, technical and professional services in April, and 17,000.

In April, 22,000 people worked in retail trade. Construction workers saw a decrease of 21,000.

Statistics Canada reports that there are a lot of indicators that point to a tighter labour market, including a decrease in part-time workers who would prefer full-time employment.

At 15.7 % in April, the involuntary partial-time employment rate was at its lowest level ever recorded.

In April, the average hourly wage increased by 3.3% year-over-year, compared to March’s gain of 3.4%.

Statistics Canada also stated that in April, 25.9% of all employees earned less than $20/hour, which is a drop from 35.5 % in April 2019.

In contrast to 18.0 percent three years prior, 24.5 percentage of employees earned $40 or more an hour.

The economic effects of the pandemic were still felt as April saw a decline in hours worked by 1.9% compared to March. This was due to sickness-related absences from work. Manitoba’s blizzard also had an impact on the hours that were worked.

Here’s an overview of Canada’s April employment numbers (numbers in brackets are from the previous month):

Unemployment rate: 5.2 per cent (5.3)

Employment rate: 61.9 per cent (61.9)

Participation rate: 65.3 per cent (65.4)

Number unemployed: 1,085,800 (1,100,200)

Number working: 19,600,500 (19,585,200)

Youth unemployment rate is 10.1 percent (9.8)

Men (25 plus) unemployment rate: 4.5 per cent (4.4)

Women (25 plus) unemployment rate: 4.5 per cent (4.8)

These are the unemployment rates for the last month by province (in brackets, the numbers from the previous month):

Newfoundland and Labrador 10.8 Percent (12.9)

Prince Edward Island, 8.1 percent (8.1)

Nova Scotia 6.0 per cent (6.5)

New Brunswick 7.0% (7.7)

Quebec: 3.9 Percent (4.1).

Ontario 5.4 per cent (5.3)

Manitoba 5.0 per cent (5.3)

Saskatchewan 5.5% (5.0)

Alberta 5.9 per cent (6.5)

British Columbia 5.4 per cent (5.1)

Statistics Canada also released three-monthly adjusted, moving average unemployment rates in major cities. However, it warns that these figures could fluctuate as they are based only on small statistical samples. Below are the unemployment rates for the last month by city (in brackets, the numbers from the previous month):