On Friday, the latest Labour Force Survey was released by Statistics Canada, indicating that employment had increased across the country by 90,000 in the month of April. The results were much higher than forecasted by analysts, whom had anticipated just 18,000 jobs to be added during the month.
The unemployment rate meanwhile remained flat at 6.1%, whereas those same analysts had expected unemployment to move a tick higher to 6.2%. Comparatively, the employment rate as of April sat at 61.4%.
While on the surface those results may sound spectacular, lets break down the details a bit more.
First and foremost, lets acknowledge that of those 90,000 jobs, nearly one third, or 26,000, came from the bloating public sector.
The public sector has seen job growth of 4.9% on a year over year basis, growing by 208,000 jobs across the last twelve months. Even more problematic, is the fact that the growth in public sector employment greatly outpaces the private section, which has seen growth of just 1.4%, adding 190,000 jobs over the last twelve months.
Secondly, the largest driver of gains was part time positions, which accounted for 50,000, or more than half, of those 90,000 new jobs.
Furthermore, as X user @NyaPfanner highlights, April is the month wherein summer jobs tend to begin as post-secondary schools finish up the school year – and those roles are often subsidized by the government. This is evident in the stats related to employment among youth, for those aged 15 to 24. Employment in this bracket rose by 40,000 during the month of April.
The Summer Jobs program in 2023 for comparison purposes subsidized 74,285 jobs at a total cost of $285,558,207. That figure shakes out to approximately $3,844 in subsidies per job created. The program has been established for use by employers that are non-profits or public sector employers, or for those in the private sector with 50 of fewer employees. The subsidy, which typically covers up to 50% of the minimum wage of an employee, is eligible for employees from 15 to 30 years of age.
Finally, StatCan also identified that when adjusted to “US Concepts” the unemployment rate stood at 5.1%, compared to 3.9% in the US. The unemployment rate by these standards has increased by 1.0% in Canada over the last twelve months, while in the US it rose by half as much.
Information for this briefing was found via Statistics Canada. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
