The number of jobs made an unexpected jump of 90,000 in Canada in April and the country’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.1%.
Posted at 8:39 a.m.
In Quebec, there were 19,000 more jobs in April, but the unemployment rate still increased by 0.1%, to reach 5.1%. This is the first significant increase in employment in Quebec since September 2023. Over the past year, Quebec has created few jobs while the working age population increased by 2.2% during the same period.
The scenario is the same for the whole country. Over the past year, the working age population has increased by 1.1 million, much higher than the net job creation of 377,000. Between April 2023 and April 2024, the unemployment rate increased by 1 % in Canada.
The unemployment rate has increased in all age groups, but young people are particularly affected. Over the past year, the unemployment rate for young people aged 15 to 24 has increased by 2.9%, to 12.8%, the highest level since July 2016, according to Statistics Canada.
The jobs that were added in April were mainly created in the private sector, and they were mainly part-time jobs, indicates Statistics Canada. Most economists expected very low job creation, around 15,000 for the entire country.
Employment increased in the service sector, namely professional services, accommodation and food services, and health care. The number of hours worked increased by 0.8% in April. The average hourly wage continues to increase, but at a slower pace. After an increase of 5.1% in March, the average hourly wage increased by 4.7% in April.
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