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

Released:2024-11-08

Highlights

Employment was little changed in October (+15,000; +0.1%) and the employment rate fell0.1percentage points to60.6%. The unemployment rate was unchanged at6.5%.

Employment rose by25,000(+1.8%) in October among male youth aged15to24, while it fell among women aged55and older (-15,000; -0.8%). There was little change in employment for men and women across the other major age groups.

There were more people employed in business, building and other support services (+29,000; +4.2%) in the month, and fewer people employed in finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing (-13,000; -0.9%) as well as public administration (-8,700; -0.7%).

By province, employment increased in Alberta (+13,000; +0.5%) and New Brunswick (+3,300; +0.8%) in October, while it declined in Prince Edward Island (-1,100; -1.2%).

Total hours worked rose0.3% in the month and were up1.6% compared with12months earlier.

Average hourly wages among employees increased4.9% (up $1.68to $35.76) on a year-over-year basis in October, following growth of4.6% in September (not seasonally adjusted).

Employment holds steady in October

Employment was little changed in October (+15,000; +0.1%), following an increase in September (+47,000; +0.2%). On a year-over-year basis, employment was up by303,000(+1.5%).

The employment rate—the proportion of the population aged15and older who are employed—decreased by0.1percentage points to60.6% in October, the sixth consecutive monthly decline. It fell1.3percentage points on a year-over-year basis and has been on a downward trend from a recent peak of62.4% in February2023.

The number of employees in the private sector was little changed in October, following two months of growth totalling99,000(+0.7%) in August and September. Public sector employment and self-employment were both virtually unchanged in October.

Employment rises among youth

Employment increased by33,000(+1.2%) for youth aged15to24in October, driven by gains among male youth (+25,000; +1.8%). The youth employment rate rose0.4percentage points to54.4% in October, the first increase for this group since April.

Despite the employment increase in October, the youth employment rate declined2.7percentage points from October2023to October2024. Over this period, the employment rate fell more for male youth (-3.4percentage points to53.4%) than for female youth (-1.9percentage points to55.5%).

Employment was little changed among core-aged (25to54years old) men and women in October. However, as the population grew, employment rates continued to trend down, falling by0.3percentage points to86.2% for men and by0.3percentage points to80.2% for women in this age group.

The employment rate for core-aged people has trended down since the spring of2023and was down by a similar amount for women (-1.5percentage points) and men (-1.3percentage points) on a year-over-year basis in October2024.

For people aged55to64, the employment rate held steady in October and compared with12months earlier for both women (59.3%) and men (69.4%).

Unemployment rate holds steady at6.5%

The unemployment rate was unchanged at6.5% in October, following a decline of0.1percentage points in September. On a year-over-year basis, the unemployment rate was up0.8percentage points in October, as193,000(+15.6%) more people searched for work or were on temporary layoff.

The youth unemployment rate fell0.7percentage points to12.8% in October, following a decline of1.0percentage points in September. Prior to these declines, the youth unemployment rate had been on a strong upward trend from January, rising to a recent peak of14.5% in August. On a year-over-year basis, the unemployment rate was up2.4percentage points to14.3% for young men in October and was little changed at11.1% for young women.

The unemployment rate of core-aged women rose0.2percentage points to5.5% in October, after it increased0.3percentage points the previous month. The unemployment rate of core-aged women has trended up in the12months to October, rising1.0percentage points over this period. For core-aged men, the unemployment rate was virtually unchanged in the month at5.7%, but was up0.6percentage points on a year-over-year basis.

There was little change in the unemployment rate for people aged55and older (4.9%) in October and compared with12months earlier.

Unemployment rate falls on a year-over-year basis among core-aged First Nations people and Métis, and rises among First Nations youth

Among First Nations people living off reserve in the provinces, the unemployment rate was11.5% in October, little changed from12months earlier (10.8%) (three-month moving averages, not seasonally adjusted). For First Nations people in the core-age (25to54years), the unemployment rate was7.8%, down1.6percentage points compared with12months earlier. However, for First Nations youth (aged15to24), the unemployment rate rose5.6percentage points to22.0% over the same period. Among First Nations people aged55years and older, the unemployment rate in October (10.1%) was little changed from12months earlier.

Among Métis, the unemployment rate was6.1% in October, and was down1.5percentage points on a year-over-year basis. The unemployment rate of core-aged Métis fell2.2percentage points to4.7% in the12months to October, while it was little changed over the same period among Métis youth (12.7%) and Métis aged55years and older (3.6%).

Participation rate falls in October, the fourth monthly decline since May

The labour force participation rate—the proportion of the population aged15and older who are employed or looking for work—declined0.1percentage points to64.8% in October, the fourth monthly decline since May. The participation rate in October was the lowest since December1997(excluding the years2020and2021, during the COVID-19pandemic).

After reaching a peak of67.7% prior to the2008/2009recession, the labour force participation rate followed a steady downward trend, reflecting the long-term downward pressures of population aging on labour supply.

In recent years, the participation rate has held relatively steady, as robust population growth and a tight labour market contributed to increased labour force participation, particularly among core-aged women and men, offsetting the long-term impacts of population aging on overall labour supply. More recently, labour market conditions have cooled, and declines in labour force participation have been recorded across most major demographic groups.

Although the participation rate of youth aged15to24was little changed at62.3% in October, it fell2.1percentage points on a year-over-year basis, the largest decline among major age groups. The decline was attributable to lower labour force participation among students; on a year-over-year basis, the participation rate fell among students (-3.1percentage points to44.1%), but was little changed for non-students (87.5%) (not seasonally adjusted). Among youth not in the labour force, the majority (88.7%) were going to school—virtually unchanged from a year earlier.

The participation rate of core-aged men fell0.3percentage points to91.4% in October and was down0.9percentage points from a recent high of92.3% reached in April and May2024. The participation rate of core-aged men in October was comparable with its2017-to-2019pre-pandemic average (91.2%).

For core-aged women, the participation rate was little changed at84.9% in October but was down0.6percentage points from the recent high of85.5% recorded in April2024. Despite the recent decline, the participation rate of core-aged women in October remained higher than the2017-to-2019average of83.4%.

The participation rate of people aged55to64was little changed both in October and on a year-over-year basis for both men (73.8%) and women (61.8%).

Employment increases in business, building and other support services

In October, employment in business, building and other support services rose by29,000(+4.2%), the first increase since May. On a year-over-year basis, employment in this industry—which includes establishments primarily engaged in activities that support the day-to-day operations of organizations, from waste management to administrative services—was up by33,000(+4.8%).

Employment in finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing fell by13,000(-0.9%) in October. Despite the decline in the month, employment in the industry was up by50,000(+3.6%) on a year-over-year basis, outpacing employment growth across all industries (+1.5%).

Public administration employment fell by8,700(-0.7%) in October, following two consecutive months of little change in August and September. Employment in public administration had previously followed a strong upward trend from August2023to July2024, rising by65,000(+5.5%) over the period.

More people employed in Alberta and New Brunswick, while Prince Edward Island posts a decline

Employment in Alberta rose by13,000(+0.5%) in October, the second increase in three months. At7.3%, the unemployment rate was little changed in the month, but was up1.4percentage points compared with October2023. Over the same period, the employment rate in Alberta fell1.6percentage points to63.7%, as employment growth (+2.3%; +58,000) was slower than growth in the population aged15and older in the Labour Force Survey (LFS) (+4.8%).

Employment also increased in New Brunswick in October (+3,300; +0.8%) and the unemployment rate was little changed at6.8%. On a year-over-year basis, employment in the province was up3.1% (+12,000).

There were fewer employed people in Prince Edward Island in October (-1,100; -1.2%). The decline in employment, coupled with an increase in the number of Prince Edward Islanders in search of work, pushed the unemployment rate in the province up2.9percentage points to10.0%.

Both Quebec and Ontario saw little overall employment change in October. The unemployment rate held steady in October in Quebec (at5.7%) and in Ontario (at6.8%).

In the spotlight: Nearly3in10Canadians living in a household that had difficulty meeting its financial needs

In October, nearly3in10(28.8%) Canadians aged15and older were living in a household that had found it difficult or very difficult, in the previous four weeks, to meet its financial needs in terms of transportation, housing, food, clothing and other necessary expenses. This was down from October2023(33.1%) and October2022(35.5%), though still above the figure recorded in October2020(20.4%) during the first year of the COVID-19pandemic.

Continuing the pattern observed in October2022and2023, residents of Quebec were the least likely to live in a household experiencing difficulty meeting its financial needs (22.3%) in October2024. On the other hand, the proportions of people living in households facing financial difficulties in Ontario (31.7%) and Alberta (31.3%) were above the Canadian average.

People living in a rented dwelling were more likely to be in a household that found it difficult or very difficult to meet its financial needs (39.2%) compared with those living in a dwelling owned by a member of the household (24.3%).

Immigrants were also more likely to be in households experiencing financial difficulties. In October, among immigrants who had landed in Canada within the previous10years, just over4in10(41.2%) lived in a household experiencing financial difficulties. For more established immigrants (landed more than10years ago), this proportion was just over3in10(31.2%), while it was about one-quarter (25.8%) for people born in Canada.

In the spotlight: just over6in10Canadian workers very satisfied with their job

Levels of job satisfaction may reflect differences in job characteristics and working conditions, as well as the compatibility of a person with their job. Job satisfaction can impact the well-being and productivity of workers, and is part of Canada's Quality of Life framework. In October2024, the LFS asked employed Canadians aged15to69to rate their level of job satisfaction on a scale of0to10.

In October, just over6in10workers (61.3%) reported that they were very satisfied with their job; that is, they rated their job satisfaction8,9or10out of10. This was down0.9percentage points from October2023(62.2%). Youth aged15to24were the least likely to be very satisfied with their job (55.3%), while workers aged55to69were the most likely to be very satisfied (68.1%). About6in10(60.5%) core-aged men and women were very satisfied with their job.

In October, self-employed workers were more likely to be very satisfied with their job (70.0%) compared with both public sector employees (60.2%) and private sector employees (60.1%).

Workers in agriculture were among the most likely to be very satisfied with their job (71.8%), while those in accommodation and food services (50.4%) and retail trade (53.9%) were less likely to be very satisfied with their job compared to the average for all workers.

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 market indicators, census metropolitan areas, census agglomerations and self-contained labour areas: Interactive dashboard" (Catalogue number71-607-X) is also available. This dashboard allows users to visually explore the estimates using an interactive map as well as time series charts and tables.

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).