The Daily — Labour Force Survey, April 2024 (2024)

Released:2024-05-10

Highlights

Employment increased by90,000(+0.4%) in April, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at6.1%. The employment rate held steady at61.4%, following six consecutive monthly declines.

In April, employment rose among core-aged men (25to54years old) (+41,000; +0.6%) and women (+27,000; +0.4%) as well as for male youth aged15to24(+39,000; +2.8%). There were fewer women aged55and older employed (-16,000; -0.8%), while employment was little changed among men aged55and older and female youth (aged15to24).

Employment gains in April were driven by part-time employment (+50,000; +1.4%).

Employment increased in April in professional, scientific and technical services (+26,000; +1.3%), accommodation and food services (+24,000; +2.2%), health care and social assistance (+17,000; +0.6%) and natural resources (+7,700; +2.3%), while it fell in utilities (-5,000; -3.1%).

Employment increased in Ontario (+25,000; +0.3%), British Columbia (+23,000; +0.8%), Quebec (+19,000+0.4%) and New Brunswick (+7,800; +2.0%) in April. It was little changed in the other provinces.

Total hours worked rose0.8% in April and were up1.2% compared with12months earlier.

Average hourly wages among employees increased4.7% (+$1.57to $34.95) on a year-over-year basis in April, following growth of5.1% in March (not seasonally adjusted).

In the spotlight: Over one in four workers (28.4%) have to come into work or connect to a work device at short notice at least several times a month.

Employment rises in April

Employment rose by90,000(+0.4%) in April, following little change in March.

The employment rate—the proportion of the population aged15and older who are employed—was unchanged at61.4% in April, following six consecutive months of declines. On a year-over-year basis, the employment rate was down0.9percentage points, as growth in the population aged15and older in the Labour Force Survey (LFS) (+3.3%; +1.1million) outpaced employment growth (+1.9%; +377,000).

Employment gains in April were driven by part-time employment (+50,000; +1.4%). On a year-over-year basis, part-time employment was up by2.9% (+104,000) in April, while full-time employment was up by1.7% (+273,000).

Gains in April driven by private sector employees

Private sector employment rose in April (+50,000; +0.4%) following four consecutive months of little change. There were also more people employed in the public sector (+26,000; +0.6%). On a year-over-year basis, public sector employment was up by208,000in April (+4.9%), outpacing growth in the private sector (+190,000; +1.4%).

Self-employment was little changed in April, both in the month and on a year-over-year basis.

Employment rises among core-aged men and women as well as male youth

Employment rose among core-aged men in April (+41,000; +0.6%), the third consecutive monthly increase. Gains in April were driven by full-time work (+45,000; +0.7%). The employment rate for core-aged men was87.3% in April, little changed in the month but down0.5percentage points on a year-over-year basis.

Among core-aged women, employment increased by27,000(+0.4%) in April, driven by part-time work (+22,000; +2.2%). Despite the increase in part-time employment in the month, more core-aged women worked full-time compared with12months earlier (+148,000; +2.8%), while the number working part-time was little changed. The employment rate for core-aged women was81.4%, virtually unchanged in April but down0.4percentage points on a year-over-year basis.

Employment among youth aged15to24rose by40,000(+1.5%) in April, reflecting an increase among young men (+39,000; +2.8%). This was the first monthly increase for youth employment since December2022. The youth employment rate in April (55.5%) was up0.5percentage points from March, but was down3.7percentage points compared with the same month in2023. On a year-over-year basis, the employment rate was down4.9percentage points to55.2% for young women in April2024and down2.7percentage points to55.7% for young men.

There were fewer women aged55and older employed in April (-16,000; -0.8%), lowering their employment rate0.3percentage points to29.8%. For men aged55and older, employment was little changed and their employment rate was virtually unchanged at39.9%.

Unemployment rate holds steady in April

The unemployment rate was unchanged at6.1% in April, following an increase of0.3percentage points in March. The rate in April was up1.0percentage points compared with12months earlier.

There were1.3million unemployed people in April, little changed from the previous month (+17,000; +1.3%). This follows a cumulative increase of96,000(+7.8%) in February and March. Compared with12months earlier, the number of unemployed people was up by256,000(+23.7%) in April.

The labour force participation rate—the proportion of the population aged15and older who were employed or looking for work—rose0.1percentage points to65.4% in April. This was the first increase since June2023.

Unemployment rates up across all major demographic groups over the previous12months

While the overall unemployment rate was unchanged from March to April2024, it decreased by0.1percentage points among people aged25to54and rose0.2percentage points among people aged55and older. The unemployment rate was little changed among youth.

Compared with12months earlier, unemployment rates were higher among all major demographic groups. The largest increase was among youth; their rate increased2.9percentage points to12.8%, marking the highest unemployment rate for youth since July2016, excluding2020and2021, during the COVID-19pandemic. On a year-over-year basis, the unemployment rate was up for both young women (+3.5percentage points to12.6%) and young men (+2.3percentage points to13.0%).

Compared with12months earlier, the unemployment rate in April for those in the core-aged group was up by0.9percentage points to5.4% among men and up by0.7percentage points to4.9% among women.

The unemployment rate also increased among people aged55and older on a year-over-year basis. It rose more for women aged55and older (+1.0percentage points to4.7%) than for men (+0.4percentage points to4.7%).

Unemployment rates up on a year-over-year basis among largest racialized groups

In each of the three largest racialized groups in Canada, the unemployment rates for those of core working age (25to54years old) were up on a year-over-year basis.

In the12months to April, the unemployment rate rose by4.4percentage points to11.2% for core-aged Black Canadians, by2.1percentage points to6.8% for core-aged South Asians, and by1.3percentage points to7.5% for core-aged Chinese Canadians. In comparison, the unemployment rate rose by0.3percentage points to4.2% over the same period among non-racialized core-aged people (three-month moving averages; not seasonally adjusted).

Employment increases in service-producing industries, led by professional, scientific and technical services

In professional, scientific and technical services, employment increased by26,000(+1.3%) in April, following a decrease in March (-20,000; -1.0%). Over the past12months, employment in this industry rose by88,000(+4.7%).

There were more people working in accommodation and food services (+24,000; +2.2%) in April, largely offsetting a decrease in March (-27,000; -2.4%). On a year-over-year basis, employment in this industry was little changed in April and remains below the average employment level observed from2017to2019(-99,000; -8.1%).

Employment in health care and social assistance increased by17,000(+0.6%) in April2024, building on an increase of40,000(+1.5%) in March. Over the past12months, the fastest employment growth has been among people working in hospitals (+9.8%), followed by social assistance (+8.6%) and nursing and residential care facilities (+8.3%) (not seasonally adjusted).

Employment up in Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec and New Brunswick in April

Employment in Ontario increased by25,000(+0.3%) in April, building on a cumulative increase of57,000(+0.7%) from December2023to March2024. Despite the employment gains, the employment rate in Ontario was little changed in April at60.6%, and was down1.6percentage points on a year-over-year basis. The unemployment rate in Ontario was little changed at6.8% in April, following increases of0.3percentage points in February and0.2percentage points in March.

In British Columbia, employment rose by23,000(+0.8%) in April, the first significant increase since December2023. The unemployment rate fell0.5percentage points to5.0% in April2024. The employment rate in British Columbia was62.0%, up0.3percentage points in the month, and little changed on a year-over-year basis.

Employment in Quebec increased by19,000(+0.4%) in April, offsetting the decline in the previous month. This increase was the first significant gain since September2023. In the12months to April2024, employment in Quebec was little changed, while the working-age population grew by2.2%. As a result, the employment rate in Quebec fell0.9percentage points during the period to61.4% in April.

Following five months of little change, employment in New Brunswick increased (+7,800; +2.0%) in April and the employment rate rose0.9percentage points to56.9%. The unemployment rate fell0.8percentage points in April to7.0%.

While employment in Alberta was little changed in April, there were more people searching for work, pushing the unemployment rate up0.7percentage points to7.0%.

Unemployment rate in Canada continues to trend higher than in the United States

By adjusting Canadian data to US concepts, comparisons can be made between the labour market situation in Canada and in the United States. For more information, see "Measuring Employment and Unemployment in Canada and the United States – A comparison."

The unemployment rate, adjusted to US concepts, was5.1% in Canada in April,1.2percentage points higher than in the United States (3.9%). On a year-over-year basis, the unemployment rate increased1.0percentage points in Canada, while in the United States it rose0.5percentage points.

Also adjusted to US concepts, the employment rate was62.0% in Canada and60.2% in the United States in April. The employment rate, defined as employment as a percentage of the working-age population, has historically been higher in Canada, but the gap has narrowed in the past year. From April2023to April2024, the employment rate, adjusted to US concepts, fell by0.8percentage points in Canada while it was little changed in the United States over the same period.

In the spotlight: More than one in four workers have to come into work, or connect to a work device at short notice at least several times a month

Working time and work-life balance are key dimensions of quality of employment that can impact workers' health, well-being and quality of life.

Some scheduling arrangements, such as flexible start and finishing times, can support the balancing of work and family commitments, while other schedules, such as long working hours, can be more challenging to navigate. An additional dimension of working time—the need to come into work or connect to a work device at short notice to address work demands—can put pressure on workers and affect work-life balance.

In April2024, more than one in four workers (28.4%; population aged15to69) indicated that they had to come into work or connect to a work device at short notice at least several times a month. Proportionally more men (30.5%) reported having to do so than women (26.2%).

Self-employed workers can have a greater ability to choose when they work. However, in April, they were more likely than employees to have to work or connect to a work device at short notice several times a month or more (43.8% compared with26.3%).

Workers in management occupations, including legislative and senior managers (59.8%) and specialized middle management occupations in health care (55.9%), were particularly likely to have to go into work or connect to a work device at short notice at least several times a month.

In health care occupations, more workers may be expected to physically travel to their work site when called upon to work at short notice. In April,39.2% of health treating and consultation services professionals—which includes physicians and dentists—had to come into work or connect to a work device at short notice several times a month or more. Among paid employees,30.3% of registered nurses had to come to work or connect to a work device at short notice at least several times a month, a proportion higher than the average for all employees (26.3%).

Products

More information about the concepts and use of the Labour Force Survey is available online in the Guide to the Labour Force Survey (Catalogue number71-543-G).

The product "Labour Force Survey in brief: Interactive app" (Catalogue number14200001) is also available. This interactive visualization application provides seasonally adjusted estimates by province, sex, age group and industry.

The product "Labour Market Indicators, by province and census metropolitan area, seasonally adjusted" (Catalogue number71-607-X) is also available. This interactive dashboard provides customizable access to key labour market indicators.

The product "Labour Market Indicators, by province, territory and economic region, unadjusted for seasonality" (Catalogue number71-607-X) is also available. This dynamic web application provides access to labour market indicators for Canada, provinces, territories and economic regions.

The product Labour Force Survey: Public Use Microdata File (Catalogue number71M0001X) is also available. This public use microdata file contains non-aggregated data for a wide variety of variables collected from the Labour Force Survey. The data have been modified to ensure that no individual or business is directly or indirectly identified. This product is for users who prefer to do their own analysis by focusing on specific subgroups in the population or by cross-classifying variables that are not in our catalogued products.

Contact information

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).