Canadians face tough job market as unemployment hits 6.8%, the highest in eight years

It’s a challenging time for job seekers in Canada right now. The unemployment rate rose 6.8 percent in November, marking the highest in eight years.

A recent survey by Statistics Canada states that while 51,000 people found work, unemployment went up to 6.8 percent, “the highest rate since January 2017 (excluding the years 2020 and 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic).”

That level has been steadily increasing by 1.7 percent since April 2023. The latest findings reveal that there are now 87,000 (or 6.1 percent) more people looking for work. Of unemployed people, the number of new graduates and people who haven’t worked in the past year also grew from 39.5 percent in November 2023 to 46.3 percent this year.

The level of unemployment also varies depending on where you live. Currently, Newfoundland and Labrador has the highest rate of unemployment, at 10.8 percent, followed by PEI, at 8 percent. Saskatchewan has the lowest at 5.6 percent, with Manitoba coming second at 5.8 percent.

Statistics Canada

Compared to Quebec, which has an unemployment rate of 5.9 percent, and BC at 5.7 percent, Ontario had the highest at 7.6 percent.

In addition to the alarming rise in unemployment, more Canadians are struggling to find work for an extended period.

“The proportion of long-term unemployed people has increased along with the unemployment rate,” reads the report. “Among unemployed persons, 21.7 percent had been continuously unemployed for 27 weeks or more in November, up 5.9 percentage points from a year earlier.”

Youths (aged 15 to 24) hoping to gain job experience are also having difficulty finding work lately, with the youth unemployment rate currently at 13.9 percent. On the other hand, unemployment among people aged 55 and older saw a slight increase to 5.3 percent.

Elena Berd/Shutterstock

The unemployment rate for women increased to 5.8 percent, while it remained unchanged for men at 5.7 percent.

Despite disheartening results, some industries saw a job boost in November.

Around 17,000 Canadians (0.9 percent) have found jobs in professional, scientific and technical services, while construction added 18,000 more jobs (1.2 percent). So far, the industry that has added the highest number of workers is wholesale and retail trade, which now has 39,000 (or 1.3 percent) more workers.

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