Labour Force Survey, August 2024

Economic

Summary:

Employment was little changed in August (+22,000; +0.1%) while the employment rate decreased 0.1 percentage points to 60.8%. The unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage points to 6.6%.

Little overall change in employment in August

Employment was little changed in August (+22,000; +0.1%), as gains in part-time work (+66,000; +1.8%) were largely offset by a decline in full-time work (-44,000; -0.3%). This was the fourth consecutive month of little overall employment change.

The employment rate—the proportion of the population aged 15 and older who are employed—decreased by 0.1 percentage points to 60.8% in August, the fourth consecutive monthly decline and the 10th decline in the past 11 months. On a year-over-year basis, the employment rate was down 1.2 percentage points in August, as employment growth (+1.6%) was outpaced by growth in the population aged 15 and older in the Labour Force Survey (LFS) (+3.5%).

The number of private sector employees rose by 38,000 (+0.3%) in August, largely offsetting a similar-sized decrease in the previous month (-42,000; -0.3%). The increase in private sector employment in August was the first since April. Public sector employment and self-employment were both little changed in August.

Year-over-year employment growth concentrated among core-aged men and women

In August, employment grew by 20,000 (+0.3%) among core-aged women (25 to 54 years old) and held steady across other major demographic groups.

Employment growth in the 12 months to August was concentrated among people in the core working age. While employment was up on a year-over-year basis for men (+207,000; +3.0%) and women (+115,000; +1.8%) aged 25 to 54 in August, it was virtually unchanged among youth (15 to 24 years old) and people aged 55 and older.

On a year-over-year basis, the employment rate was down for youth as well as for people in the core working age in August. Declines were larger for young men (-4.5 percentage points to 52.3%) and young women (-3.5 percentage points to 55.2%), reflecting relatively strong population growth and virtually no employment growth for the youth population.

Unemployment rate increases to 6.6% in August

The unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage points to 6.6% in August, after holding steady in July. The unemployment rate in August was the highest since May 2017, outside of 2020 and 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The unemployment rate has generally trended up since April 2023, rising 1.5 percentage points over this period.

There were 1.5 million unemployed people in August 2024, an increase of 60,000 (+4.3%) from July and an increase of 272,000 (+22.9%) from August 2023.

Among those who were unemployed in July, 16.7% had transitioned to employment in August (not seasonally adjusted). This was lower than the corresponding proportion in August 2023 (23.2%), an indication that unemployed people may be facing greater difficulties finding work.

Unemployment rate rises for core-aged and older men in August

In August, the unemployment rate rose for men aged 25 to 54 years old (+0.4 percentage points to 5.7%) and for men aged 55 and older (+0.4 percentage points to 5.5%), while it was little changed for other major demographic groups.

Although the unemployment rate was up across all age groups on a year-over-year basis in August, the increase was largest for youth (+3.2 percentage points to 14.5% in August). The rate was up for young men (+3.8 percentage points to 16.3%) and young women (+2.6 percentage points to 12.6%).

For core-aged people, the unemployment rate was up 0.9 percentage points to 5.4% on a year-over-year basis in August. Increases for this age group were observed across all levels of educational attainment. On a year-over-year basis, the unemployment rate was up in August for core-aged people with a high school diploma or less (+1.5 percentage points to 8.2%), for those with some post-secondary education below a bachelor's degree (+0.7 percentage points to 5.5%) as well as for those with a bachelor's degree or a higher level of education (+0.9 percentage points to 6.2%) (not seasonally adjusted).

Difficult summer for students seeking employment

From May to August, the LFS collects labour market data on youth aged 15 to 24 who were attending school full time in March and who intend to return to school full time in the fall. With data for August now available, it is possible to examine the labour market situation of returning students in 2024, over the entire four-month summer period (not seasonally adjusted).

On average from May to August 2024, the unemployment rate for returning students aged 15 to 24 was 16.7%, up from 12.9% in 2023. The unemployment rate for the summer of 2024 was the highest since 2012 (when it was 17.6%), excluding the summer of 2020.

The unemployment rate of returning students over the summer months of 2024 was up for both young men (+4.5 percentage points to 18.1%) and young women (+3.3 percentage points to 15.5%) compared with the same period in 2023.

The unemployment rate increased for returning students across all age groups in the summer of 2024 compared with the summer of 2023. Among the youngest—those aged 15 and 16—more than one-quarter (27.0%) were unemployed this summer (up from 22.1% in 2023). For returning students aged 17 to 19, the unemployment rate was 17.7%, up from 12.5% in 2023. For older returning students—those aged 20 to 24—the unemployment rate was 11.1%, up from 8.3% in 2023.

The summer job market in 2024 was particularly difficult for returning students aged 15 to 24 who were part of the three largest racialized groups. Among Black returning students, the unemployment rate was 29.5% on average from May to August 2024. This represents an increase of 10.1 percentage points compared with the same period in 2023. The unemployment rate was also up in the summer of 2024 among Chinese students who intended to return to school full time in the fall (+7.4 percentage points to 22.4%) and their South Asian counterparts (+5.1 percentage points to 21.5%).

Employment up in educational services and health care and social assistance, while falling in "other services" and professional, scientific and technical services

In August, employment rose by 27,000 (+1.7%) in educational services, the first increase since January. There were 75,000 (+5.1%) more people employed in this sector compared with 12 months earlier.

In health care and social assistance, employment increased by 25,000 (+0.9%) in August. In the 12 months to August, employment gains in health care and social assistance (+157,000; +5.8%) were the largest of any sector and accounted for nearly half (49.6%) of total net employment growth.

Year-over-year employment growth in health care and social assistance was recorded both in the private sector (+94,000; +8.6%) and in the public sector (+77,000; +6.1%). Self-employment in health care and social assistance was little changed over the period (not seasonally adjusted).

In August, employment decreased in "other services" (which includes personal and repair services) (-19,000; -2.3%) following five months of little change.

Employment also fell in professional, scientific and technical services (-16,000; -0.8%) in August. Despite the monthly decline, employment in the industry was up by 47,000 (+2.5%) on a year-over-year basis.

Unemployment rate rises in most of the large census metropolitan areas

Among Canada's 20 largest census metropolitan areas (CMAs), based on the size of the LFS population aged 15 and older, Windsor posted the highest unemployment rate at 9.2% in August, followed by Edmonton (8.6%) and Toronto (8.0%). Unemployment rates were lowest in the Victoria (3.3%) and Québec (4.0%) CMAs (three-month averages).

On a year-over-year basis, the unemployment rate rose in nearly all 20 of the largest CMAs, with the biggest increases in Windsor (+3.2 percentage points to 9.2%), Oshawa (+2.5 percentage points to 7.8%) and Edmonton (+2.4 percentage points to 8.6%) (three-month averages).

In the spotlight: Recent immigrants see little change in their average hourly earnings in August and are less likely to believe they are paid appropriately

On a year-over-year basis, average hourly wages for all employees increased 5.0% (+$1.69 to $35.16) in August, following increases of 5.4% in June and 5.2% in July (not seasonally adjusted).

Wage growth varied across different population groups. For recent immigrants (who had landed in Canada within the previous five years), average hourly wages were little changed at $30.59 (-1.3%) on a year-over-year basis in August. Among more established immigrants (who had landed in Canada more than five years earlier), average hourly wages rose 6.3% in the 12 months to August (+$2.15 to $36.15).

In comparison, Canadian-born employees saw their average hourly wage increase by 6.0% (+$2.04 to $35.83 per hour) over the same period.

In August, the LFS included additional questions about the extent to which workers were satisfied with their pay and felt that they were paid appropriately, considering their efforts and achievements.

The results show that the majority of employees aged 15 to 69 either strongly agreed (22.8%) or somewhat agreed (39.8%) that they were paid appropriately in their job. More than 7 in 10 employees (72.5%) who had hourly wages in the top quartile of the wage distribution strongly or somewhat agreed that they were paid appropriately, compared with fewer than 6 in 10 (56.5%) among those with wages in the bottom quartile of the wage distribution.

In August, more than one-third of employees who were recent immigrants (35.1%) had hourly wages in the lowest quartile of the wage distribution, compared with less than one-quarter for their Canadian-born counterparts (23.5%).

The proportion of recent immigrants who somewhat or strongly agreed that they were paid appropriately (57.3%) was lower than the corresponding proportions for both employees born in Canada (64.0%) and more established immigrants (60.2%).

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