With 54,700 new positions, the Canadian economy added twice as many jobs as expected in December, while unemployment rate hit a 22-month low of 5.9% from 6.0% in November.
Full-time jobs surged by 1,23,000, as many part-time workers shifted to more permanent employment. Employment increased in Ontario and Saskatchewan, while it declined in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Most of this year’s gains are expected to be driven by newcomers to the country, rather than the pandemic unemployed returning to the workforce.
After declining due to international travel restrictions, the number of very recent immigrants in Canada has recovered to its pre-pandemic level in recent months.
Very recent immigrants are those who arrived in Canada within the last five years.
According to Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey, in December, the total number of very recent immigrants of core working age (25 to 54 years) , who are most likely to participate in the labour market, was 0.6% (+5,000) higher than two years earlier.
Employment gains were largest in professional, scientific, and technical services (up 26,000 jobs, 31.3%) as well as wholesale and retail trade (up 20,000 jobs, 28.7%).
According to Statscan, this reflects the role that both higher-skilled and lower-skilled employment plays in the integration of newcomers into the labour market.
Professional, scientific, and technical services tend to be “high-skilled” jobs according to the National Occupational Classification (NOC), whereas retail trade jobs like cashiers fall under “low skilled”.
Canada’s main immigration pathway, Express Entry, focuses on admitting high-skilled workers. While there are pathways for low-skilled workers, some Provincial Nominee Programs for instance, there are still more economic immigrants coming to Canada as high-skilled workers.
For immigrants who landed more than five years ago, employment rates among the core-aged group was almost 83% in December.
After meeting the 2021 target of 401,000 new permanent residents, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s administration is set to revise up next year’s target of 411,000.
