July 8, 2022
Employment rose by 40,000 (+0.2%) in May and the unemployment rate edged down to 5.1% in Canada.
The employment increase was driven by gains in full-time work among young and core-aged women. The increase was spread across several industries, led by wholesale and retail trade, and was concentrated in Alberta.
Total hours worked were little changed in May, but were up 5.1% compared with 12 months earlier.
Average hourly wages increased 3.9% (+$1.18 to $31.12) on a year-over-year basis.
Full-time work drives employment growth
Amid a number of recent indicators of increasing labour demand and limited supply, employment growth resumed in May after pausing in April. Total employment increased by 40,000 (+0.2%) in May, including strong growth in full-time work (+135,000; +0.9%). Part-time employment dropped by 96,000 (-2.6%).
Employment growth in May due to gains among women across all age groups
Overall, employment gains were driven by increases for women in each of the three main age groups, while employment was little changed for men in each of the groups.
Among women in the core working ages of 25 to 54, full-time employment rose by 63,000 (+1.2%) in May, while part-time work fell by 41,000 (-4.0%). Similarly, for young women aged 15 to 24, full-time gains (+53,000; +10.0%) were greater than part-time losses (-37,000; -4.8%).
Among women aged 55 to 64, employment was little changed for a third consecutive month in May, after increasing in February (+21,000; +1.4%). Among the larger group of women aged 55 and older, total employment rose by 18,000 (+1.0%) in May.
Employment rate up year-over-year across diverse groups as labour market continues to tighten
Since May 2021, when the labour market was impacted by the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, total employment has increased by 1.1 million (+5.7%) and as of May 2022 was 497,000 (+2.6%) above its pre-COVID February 2020 level. As a result of this strong labour market recovery, the employment rate—or employment as a proportion of the population aged 15 and older—grew year over year, from 59.4% in May 2021 to 61.9% in May 2022.
Among those in the core working ages of 25 to 54, the employment rate was up 3.1 percentage points on a year-over-year basis to 84.6% in May.
Improvements in labour market conditions varied across the core-aged population from May 2021 to May 2022, with notable year-over-year increases being observed among First Nations women (+10.4 percentage points to 70.1%), South Asian women (+6.3 percentage points to 75.2%), Métis men (+4.9 percentage points to 84.1%), and Filipino men (+4.0 percentage points to 91.4%) (three-month moving averages, not seasonally adjusted).
Changes in the employment rate of diverse groups can be associated with many factors, including changes in the composition of employment by industry and occupation.
Absences due to illness or disability return to pre-pandemic level
Total hours worked were little changed in May, but were up 5.1% compared with 12 months earlier.
People absent due to illness or disability represented 6.2% of employees, slightly higher than its pre-pandemic average of 5.5% in the month of May from 2017 to 2019. The May 2022 percentage follows elevated levels, particularly in January 2022 when absences due to illness or disability affected 10.0% of employees.
The strong storm leading to prolonged power outages in some areas of Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec occurred on the last day of the reference week (Saturday, May 21) and did not impact hours worked in May.
Employment up in public sector, while self-employment still lagging below pre-COVID levels
The number of employees in the public sector rose by 108,000 (+2.6%) in May, driven by more public employees in educational services and health care and social assistance. The number of private sector employees fell by 95,000 (-0.7%), mostly due to fewer people working in manufacturing.
Following these monthly changes, gains in employment observed since the beginning of 2022 were similar for public (+113,000; +2.7%) and private (+314,000; +2.5%) sector employees.
Although self-employment was little changed on a monthly basis in May and remained lower than in February 2020 (-189,000; -6.6%), cumulative growth in the number of self-employed workers since October 2021 totalled 84,000 (+3.2%).
Unemployment rate reaches another record low
The unemployment rate edged down 0.1 percentage points to 5.1% in May, marking three consecutive months in which this key labour market indicator has reached a new record low. The rate was similar to or below previous all-time lows in four provinces: British Columbia (4.5%), New Brunswick (7.1%), Prince Edward Island (7.8%), and Newfoundland and Labrador (10.0%).
The unemployment rate for those aged 25 to 54 was 4.3% in May, matching the all-time low recorded in April 2022. The rate was little changed for both men (4.3%) and women (4.2%) in this age group in May.
The tightening labour market in recent months has contributed to year-over-year declines in unemployment rates across the core-aged population. Groups with notable year-over-year decreases in May included First Nations women (-9.3 percentage points to 7.3%), Southeast Asian women (-6.3 percentage points to 4.1%), and Filipino men (-4.7 percentage points to 3.4%) (three-month moving averages, not seasonally adjusted).
Among men aged 55 and older, the unemployment rate dropped 0.5 percentage points to 5.0% in May, while for women in this age group the rate was little changed at 4.1%.
After increasing in April, the unemployment rate among male youth aged 15 to 24 was little changed at 11.4% in May. The unemployment rate for female youth (8.1%) held steady for the third consecutive month.
Source: Statistics Canada
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