Investing.com — In December, Canada saw employment increase by 91,000 people (+0.4%) and the employment rate rose 0.2 percentage points to 60.8%. The unemployment rate also saw a slight decrease of 0.1 percentage point to 6.7%.
In particular, employment increased for men ages 25 to 54 and for those ages 55 and older, as well as for women ages 55 and older. In terms of sectors, employment gains in December were led by educational services, transportation and warehousing, finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing, and health care and social assistance.
Geographically, employment increased in Alberta, Ontario, British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan, while Manitoba saw a decline. Total hours worked increased 0.5% in December and 2.1% compared to the previous year. Average hourly wages among employees increased 3.8% (+$1.32 to $35.77) year over year in December.
The year 2024 ended with 413,000 (+2.0%) more people working in December than 12 months earlier. This year-on-year growth rate was comparable to that seen in December 2023 (+2.1%) and the average December growth rate during the pre-COVID-19 pandemic period from 2017 to 2019 (+1.9% ).
Public sector employment increased by 40,000 (+0.9%) in December, the second consecutive monthly increase. Private sector employment was little changed in December (+27,000; +0.2%) and increased by 191,000 (+1.4%) year over year. The number of self-employed workers increased by 24,000 (+0.9%) in December, the first increase since February. This brought the total increase in self-employment over the year to 64,000 (+2.4%).
The employment rate increased 0.2 percentage points to 60.8% in December, after remaining stable in November. December's increase was the first since January 2023. Year over year, the employment rate fell 0.9 percentage points in December.
Employment rose by 30,000 (+0.4%) among middle-aged men (ages 25-54) in December, building on an increase of 45,000 in November. The December increase boosted the employment rate for middle-aged men by up 0.2 percentage points to 86.7%. Employment of middle-aged women remained virtually unchanged in December and the employment rate for this group remained stable at 80.1%.
Among people 55 and older, employment increased for both men (+41,000; +1.7%) and women (+21,000; +1.1%) in December. For men in this age group, the increase was the first since January. Year over year, employment changed little in December for both men and women ages 55 and older.
The unemployment rate was 6.7% in December, 0.1 percentage points lower than the previous month. November's rate was the highest since January 2017 (outside of 2020 and 2021, during the pandemic). Year over year, the unemployment rate rose 0.9 percentage points in December.
Average hourly wages among employees increased 3.8% (+$1.32 to $35.77) year over year in December, following growth of 4.1% in November and 4.9% in October ( without seasonally adjusting).
Employment increased by 17,000 (+1.1%) in educational services (the second consecutive monthly increase) and in health care and social assistance (+16,000; +0.5%) in December. During the 12 months of 2024, growth in healthcare and social assistance (+130,000; +4.8%) and educational services (+71,000; +4.7%) have together accounted for almost half of the growth of employment in all industries.
Employment in transportation and warehousing increased by 17,000 people (+1.6%) in December, recovering from a similar size drop in November. There was little change in employment in the industry year over year.
In December, employment increased in finance, insurance, real estate rental and leasing (+16,000; +1.1%), the first significant increase since August 2024. Year over year, employment in the industry increased by 85,000 ( +6.2%).
In Alberta, employment increased by 35,000 people (+1.4%) in December, building on gains seen in three of the previous four months. The employment rate rose 0.7 percentage points to 64.8%, and the unemployment rate fell 0.8 percentage points to 6.7%. In the 12 months to December 2024, employment grew 4.0% (+100,000) in Alberta, double the pace of Canada as a whole (+2.0%; +413,000).
In Ontario, employment increased by 23,000 people (+0.3%) in December, after two months of little change. In the 12 months to December, employment in the province grew by 2.6% (+205,000). The unemployment rate in the province held steady at 7.5 per cent in December and increased 1.2 percentage points year over year.
Employment in British Columbia increased by 14,000 people (+0.5%) in December. Despite the increase in employment, the unemployment rate rose 0.3 percentage points to 6.0% on the month, as more people participated in the labor force. Year after year, employment in the province remained essentially unchanged.
Employment also increased in December in Nova Scotia (+7,400; +1.4%) and Saskatchewan (+4,000; +0.7%), and unemployment rates in both provinces were little changed: 6.3% in Nova Scotia and 5.9% in Saskatchewan.
Manitoba (-7,200; -1.0%) was the only province with a decline in employment in December, with the unemployment rate in the province increasing 0.4 percentage points to 6.2%.
Employment barely changed in Quebec, after an increase in November. With fewer people looking for work, the unemployment rate fell 0.3 percentage points to 5.6%. Compared to December 2023, the unemployment rate in Quebec increased by 0.9 percentage points and the employment rate fell by 0.9 percentage points to 61.0%.
In 2024, about 1.8 million people, representing 8.8% of total employment, worked in industries where 35% or more of jobs depended on U.S. demand for Canadian exports. These industries are identified using the latest available estimates of the value added of exports from the System of Macroeconomic Accounts.
Industries with the largest share of employment dependent on U.S. demand included oil and gas extraction, pipeline transportation, primary metals manufacturing, and transportation equipment manufacturing.
Among economic regions in 2024, Wood Buffalo-Cold Lake, Alberta, had the highest share of employment in industries that depended on U.S. demand for Canadian exports. Other economic regions with above-average employment shares in these industries in 2024 were Centre-du-Québec, Edmundston-Woodstock, New Brunswick (NYSE:), Southern Nova Scotia, Banff-Jasper-Rocky Mountain House and Athabasca-Grande Prairie – Peace River, Alberta and Windsor-Sarnia, Ontario.
In 2024, workers with a high school diploma or lower level of education and those with post-secondary education less than a bachelor's degree were more likely to work in industries dependent on U.S. demand for Canadian exports compared to those with a bachelor's degree or a higher degree. education level. Men were also more likely than women to work in these industries.
Employment in industries that depend on U.S. demand for Canadian exports tends to pay above-average wages. In 2024, the average hourly wage for employees working in these industries was $37.24, 6.5% higher than employees in other industries.
In total, 675,000 Canadians, or 2.3% of the population aged 15 to 69, performed paid work through a digital platform in the 12 months ending December 2024, providing services, renting accommodation, goods or equipment, or selling goods through websites or applications that coordinated their work activities or managed payments. This included 498,000 Canadians who provided services through digital platforms. The most common services included delivery of food or other goods, personal transportation, and content creation such as videos or podcasts.
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