CORY REDEKOP
LANGLEY – Canada saw employment growth of 90,000 new jobs, far exceeding estimates of 25,000. These gains were split between part-time (50K) and full-time (40K), and BC in particular saw an increase of 23,000 jobs. That said, the unemployment rate held steady at 6.1% and the growth of the labour force and population continue to outpace job creation.
Compared to a year ago, unemployment rates are higher across all major demographic groups, particularly among youth (12.8% — the highest since 2016, excluding the pandemic). The working-age population (aged 15 and over) in Canada rose by over 100,000 in April, bringing the total to over 410,000 after 4 months in 2024
While private sector growth did increase in April (50K) following four months of little change, on a year-over-year basis the growth of the public sector continues to outpace private sector job growth. (208K to 190K), as government and government entities continue to increase payrolls.
In BC, employment rose by 23,400 in April, the first significant growth in 4 months, and our unemployment rate fell to 5.0%. Job growth in BC was lead by the Information, Culture and Recreation sector (+23400 jobs) (which includes software and video games, telecoms, sports, arts, amongst others), with smaller gains in Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (+5900 jobs) and Accommodation and Food Services (+5700 jobs). In BC, job losses were seen in April in a few sectors, lead by Wholesale/Retail Trade (-8500 jobs) and Manufacturing (-5600 jobs.)
Canadian Chamber of Commerce Business Data Lab: “An impressive increase in Canada’s employment of 90K jobs, while the unemployment rate held simultaneously steady at its two-year peak of 6.1%, makes this one of the strongest data releases in recent months. As employment figures continue edging higher, it remains outpaced by the rapid growth of the country’s labour force. Wage growth is showing signs of slowing down but these numbers do not guarantee that the Bank of Canada will issue a rate cut in June. The likelihood of a rate cut in July may increase pending CPI data.”
Cory Redekop is the CEO of the Langley Chamber of Commerce.
