Unemployment in Canada continues to decrease
How does this affect immigrant wages and employment of immigrants?
A new September report from Statistics Canada shows that employment is rising in the country. The unemployment rate is down 0.2% to 5.2%. Employment is mostly rising among the core working population — men and women 25 to 54 years old. Long-term unemployment is also falling. In September, the number of people who have been looking for a job for more than 27 weeks dropped by 9.7%.
The growth of employment distributes unevenly. Thus, the number of workers in education, health care, and social services increased. In contrast, employment in manufacturing, information, culture and recreation, and transportation declined. By province, employment grew the most in Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador, and the least in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
Good news for workers: average pay in Canada has increased by 5.2%. It is now $31.67 CAD per hour. Wages rose more steeply in construction, by 7.5% to $33.79 CAD per hour, and in professional, scientific, and technical services, by 9.1% to $40.98 CAD per hour. The official inflation rate in the country is now 7%.
Canada continues to rely on immigrants. Due to an aging population, the number of able-bodied Canadians has been steadily declining. Since September 2019, the number of Canadians who have reached retirement age has increased by 11.6%, while the number of able-bodied people has increased by only 3.5%. Therefore, immigration is Canada's number one goal for economic stability.
This year, Canada intends to welcome more than 431,000 new permanent residents. Soon an immigration plan for 2023-2025 will be announced, in which the numbers will probably increase.
