December 2022 Labour Force Survey: Employment across Canada rises by over 100,000 to wrap up the year

A recap of general employment trends in December 2022, as well as a look into industry-based employment outcomes reported in the latest Labour Force Survey. (Pexels Photo)

According to the latest Labour Force Survey (December 2022) released by Statistics Canada, employment in Canada rose 0.5 percentage points over the month (+104,000 jobs), as the national unemployment rate dropped to 5.0% (-0.1% month-over-month).

General employment trends across Canada

Many immigrants to Canada come to this country seeking a better life, which often includes higher-paying, steadier employment. The Labour Force Survey for December 2022 reveals that, across Canada, there is healthy growth in the average hourly wages of employees — which has remained above 5% for seven consecutive months and is up 5.1% year-over-year (YOY).

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In addition to the rise in average hourly wages across Canada, it is worth noting that private-sector employment is at the root of Canada’s employment boom, as the number of employees in private-sector jobs jumped by 112,000 in December. Self-employment and public-sector employment were relative non-factors over the past month.

Employment outcomes also improved for several different age groups in Canada, as the number of people aged 15 to 24 who had a job increased by 69,000 (+2.7%) while employment also increased for those 55 or older (+31,000 jobs).

Employment trends by industry

In the healthcare and social assistance industry, total employment fell by 17,000 jobs (a drop of 0.7%) over the month of December. In the same timeframe, since the last Labour Force Survey, employment has grown across Canada in each of the following seven industries.

Construction: Total employment in the construction industry across Canada rose by 35,000 jobs in December 2022, an increase of 2.3%.

Transportation and Warehousing: The transportation and warehousing industry in this country saw employment increase by 29,000 jobs (3.0%) in December.

Information, Culture and Recreation: 25,000 more jobs were taken up in this industry across Canada to end 2022, an uptick of 3.1%.

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services: Employment in this industry rose by over 1% (+1.3%) as the number of people working in this industry grew by 23,000.

Accommodation and Food Services: 13,000 more people are working in this industry compared to the month prior (+1.2%).

Public Administration: Employment in this sector has risen by 11,000 jobs, an increase of 0.9% between November and December of 2022.

“Other Services”: 10,000 more people are working in this industry compared to the month prior (+1.3%).

Employment trends by province and territory

In December 2022, employment increased in six different provinces: Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Saskatchewan.

In Ontario, employment rose by 42,000 jobs (+0.5%) in December, up 1.4% YOY. Ontario-wide unemployment dropped down to 5.3% to end 2022, a YOY decrease of 0.8%.

Employment in Alberta rose by 25,000 jobs (+1.0%) in December, although the unemployment rate remained steady at 5.8%. Employment was up by 3.9% — and the unemployment rate was down 1.7 percentage points — YOY in Alberta.

Here are the December 2022 results for the four remaining provinces mentioned above:

British Columbia: Employment in December 2022 grew by 17,000 jobs (0.6%) while the unemployment rate held relatively steady at 4.2%

Manitoba: Manitoba employment was up 1% in December (7,000 jobs) while province-wide unemployment continued unchanged at 4.4% for the month

Saskatchewan: In Saskatchewan, employment increased by 4,200 jobs (+0.7%) in December, while the unemployment rate was little changed at 4.1%.

Newfoundland and Labrador: Employment in this province rose nearly three percent (+2.9%) in December 2022. However, NL recorded the highest unemployment rate across all 10 Canadian provinces (10.1%).

Note: Employment results in Canada’s other four provinces remained relatively steady to end 2022, but this month’s Labour Force Survey did indicate that December 2022 unemployment in Quebec came in at 4% while YOY employment was up 1.8% across the province and unemployment fell 0.7% YOY.

Across Canada’s three territories, all of which provide quarterly employment updates, the only notable movement involved Yukon’s unemployment rate, which rose to 4.8% (+2.3%) in Q4 2022. Quarterly employment and unemployment rates across the three regions remained relatively stable otherwise.

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