The unemployment rate in Canada increased by 0.1 percentage points to 5.8 percent in November, according to Statistics Canada. At the same time, the employment rate saw a 0.1 percentage point decrease, falling to 61.8 percent, as population growth outpaced employment growth. This resulted in little change in overall employment levels.
Despite this overall stagnation, there were some areas of growth in the job market. Specifically, employment in the manufacturing and construction sectors increased, while there were declines in wholesale and retail trade, finance, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing.
Additionally, the total hours worked in November fell by 0.7 percent, although they were still up 1.3 percent compared to the previous year, indicating a longer-term positive trend.
However, there were specific challenges faced by recent immigrants to Canada. Statistics Canada noted that many immigrants who had arrived in the previous five years struggled to find work relevant to their post-secondary credentials or work experience obtained outside of Canada.
