A summary of November 2022 Canadian employment trends and gender-based employment outcomes from the Labour Force Survey.

According to Statistics Canada’s latest Labour Force Survey (November 2022), women between 25 and 54 (core working age) saw 0.4% job growth.

The latest employment outcomes of recent Canadian immigrants are of particular interest after Canada’s recent Immigration Levels Plan (2023-2025) announced record-high immigration targets. Recent immigrant working-age women had a 69.7% employment rate in November 2022. In November, recent Canadian immigrant women of working age had the highest employment rate in 16 years.

Core-aged women led the 0.8% YOY increase in core-aged Canadians’ employment rate to 84.7% in November 2022. This group’s employment rate is 81.6%, up from 81.4% in May 2022. Core working-age men have an 87.8% employment rate.

Canadian job trends
In November 2022, Canada added 10,000 jobs overall. Canada’s unemployment rate fell 0.1% to 5.1%. November’s Canadian employment participation rate was 64.8%.

Despite this modest employment growth, “average hourly wages of employees remained above 5% in November, up to $32.11” from November 2021. This means newcomers to Canada will have more job opportunities and higher earning potential over time.

Provincial employment trends

Newcomers to Canada consider employment opportunities when choosing where to live. The latest Labour Force Survey shows different employment outcomes across Canada’s 13 provinces and territories.

Employment rose in Quebec but fell in five other provinces; the other four provinces and three territories saw minor changes. These results follow.

In November 2022, Quebec’s unemployment rate “reached a new record low of 3.8%” Most job gains were in Montréal, which added 1.1%.

Prince Edward Island’s 1.7% job loss pushed the unemployment rate to 6.8%.

Total employment fell 1.5% in Newfoundland and Labrador, but unemployment stayed at 10.7%.

Manitoba’s employment fell 0.8%, but unemployment stayed at 4.4%.

Alberta’s jobless rate rose to 5.8% as employment fell 0.6%.

November employment in BC fell 0.5%. Part-time jobs lost ground.

Ontario’s unemployment rate fell 0.4% to 5.5%.

Industry-specific job trends
Finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing, manufacturing, information, culture, and recreation increased employment in Canada (ICR).

Finance, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing added 21,000 jobs in November, while 11.2% of Canadians worked in retail.

In November 2022, Canadian manufacturing employment rose 1.1%. Alberta saw the biggest increase, 4.7%. In Quebec, over 10,000 manufacturing jobs were added.

ICR job growth was 1.9% in November and 4.5% last year.

Construction and wholesale/retail employment fell across Canada.

Employment in Canada’s construction industry has dropped 1.6% since October 2022. Alberta and BC saw the biggest drops. Wholesale and retail employment fell 0.8% in November and 4.4% since May 2022. Ontario and Alberta saw the most decline.

Professional, scientific, and technical services employment in Canada fell by 0.8% in November 2022, and the information and communications technology sector lost 34,000 jobs compared to November 2021.

Future-looking
The employment results by industry explain why PNPs are becoming more important in Canadian immigration. With Canada expected to continue targeting more foreign nationals through PNPs than Express Entry, it’s clear the government is trying harder to address specific labour market gaps in all Canadian PNP regions.

Industry-specific employment shifts are also expected to lead to changes to Express Entry draws, the federal government’s main method for bringing foreign skilled workers to Canada through permanent residence, next year.

As early as Q1 2023, Canada may begin Express Entry draws targeting foreign nationals with specific language/educational skills. Canada recently switched from NOC 2016 to NOC 2021, which uses TEER. This new system will help Canada understand its labor market, improve occupational forecasting, analyze labor supply and demand, and provide Canadians and foreign nationals with more focused job training and skill development.

These changes will help Canada bring more employable immigrants with specific skills to better manage regional job market needs, especially in high-demand industries.