November Labour Force Survey Highlights
This morning, the November 2021 Labour Force Survey was released, showing Canada’s labour market creating over 154,000 jobs in November as employment continues to return to pre-pandemic levels. It is thanks to the hard work of Canadians that we have recovered more than a million jobs, exceeding the number of job losses that occurred during the pandemic.
Today’s job numbers released by Statistics Canada show Canada’s labour market gaining 154,000 jobs in November, almost five times higher than originally forecasted. For a sixth consecutive month we saw our unemployment rate drop again, the largest drop since March 2021, bringing us to 6%, its lowest since the start of this pandemic.
While Canadians are back to work and we continue to see recovery well beyond our target of a million jobs, we know there is still more work to do. Our recovery is still uneven and public health measures that are saving lives continue to restrict some economic activity.
That’s why we introduced targeted measures that focus on the regions and sectors of the economy who still need support, by:
Extending the Canada Recovery Hiring Program;
Creating targeted support for businesses by introducing the Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program and the Hardest-Hit Business Recovery Program; and
Extending the CRSB and CRCB and creating the Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit to ensure workers have the support they need when they are unable to work due to local lockdowns.
Read the Report:
Summary:
Employment rose by 154,000 (+0.8%) in November and was 186,000 (+1.0%) higher than its pre-COVID February 2020 level. The unemployment rate fell to 6.0%, within 0.3 percentage points of what it was in February 2020.
Employment increased in both the services-producing and goods-producing sectors in November. Both full-time (+80,000; +0.5%) and part-time (+74,000; +2.1%) work increased, and employment gains were spread across six provinces.
Total hours worked increased 0.7% and returned to the pre-pandemic February 2020 level for the first time. Hours rose across most industries, led by manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, as well as construction. Despite increasing in November, hours in the goods-producing sector were still below their pre-pandemic level (-3.6%). All of the growth compared with February 2020 was in the services-producing sector (+1.3%), most notably in professional scientific and technical services (+12.5%).
November Labour Force Survey (LFS) data reflect labour market conditions during the week of November 7 to 13. Public health measures in place during the reference week were largely similar to those in place in October. In some jurisdictions, most notably in Ontario and Quebec, capacity limits and distancing requirements had been further eased in settings where proof of vaccination is required.
Record high employment rate among core-aged women
More than 8 in 10 (80.7%) core-aged women aged 25 to 54 were employed in November, the highest employment rate recorded since comparable data became available in 1976 and 1.0 percentage points higher than in February 2020. Employment among core-aged women grew 66,000 (+1.1%) in November, primarily in full-time work (+47,000; +0.9%)
Unemployment rate approaches pre-pandemic level
The unemployment rate fell 0.7 percentage points to 6.0% in November—the sixth consecutive monthly drop and the largest decline since March 2021.
Total unemployment fell to 1.24 million (-122,000; -8.9%) but remained 98,000 higher than in February 2020.
The number of Canadians unemployed for 27 weeks or more fell 62,000 (-16.2%), the first monthly decline in long-term unemployment since August 2021.
The decline in long-term unemployment was particularly sharp for those who had been unemployed for 52 weeks or more (-23.4%; -56,000).
Among young women, part-time gains offset by full-time losses
Overall employment among young women aged 15 to 24 was little changed in November as part-time gains (+43,000; +5.9%) were offset by full-time losses (-30,000; -5.3%). Employment increased among teenagers aged 15 to 19 (+18,000; +2.0%) in November, while young women aged 20 to 24 saw little growth for the second consecutive month. Employment and the employment rate for young women remained on par with their February 2020 levels after returning to pre-pandemic levels in August 2021.
Employment among young men aged 15 to 24 was virtually unchanged in November, and was down 33,000 (-2.5%) from February 2020. The larger gap among young men is partly due to a slower return to the November 2019 employment level in accommodation and food services. Compared with November 2019, in November 2021 employment in this industry was 26.6% lower among young men, while it was 12.0% lower among young women (not seasonally adjusted). In addition, a larger proportion of young men work in transportation and warehousing, an industry where their employment remains notably below its November 2019 level (-19,000; -27.8%) (not seasonally adjusted).
Employment rate increases for Black Canadians
The employment rate increased among Black Canadians (+3.0 percentage points to 72.0%) in November. In contrast, the employment rate for Filipino Canadians was down 1.9 percentage points to 78.3%. Among people who are not members of groups designated as visible minorities and who are not Indigenous, the employment rate increased slightly (+0.3 percentage points to 71.2%) after changing little over the previous three months (population aged 15 to 69; not seasonally adjusted).
Employment rate for very recent immigrants remains elevated
The employment rate among very recent immigrants (in Canada for five years or less) was little changed in November at 71.3%, but was 6.5 percentage points higher than in November 2019. Among immigrants who have been in Canada for more than five years, the employment rate was unchanged from November 2019 at 60.3%. For people born in Canada, the employment rate was down 1.6 percentage points from November 2019 to 60.9% (three-month moving averages, not seasonally adjusted).
Employment rate among Indigenous people unchanged from two years earlier
In November, the employment rates among both Indigenous men (60.6%) and women (57.0%) were essentially the same as in November 2019 (three-month moving averages, not seasonally adjusted).
Among non-Indigenous people, the employment rate in November remained lower than two years ago for both men (65.3%; -0.8 percentage points) and women (57.3%; -0.9 percentage points) (three-month moving averages, not seasonally adjusted).
LFS information for Indigenous people reflects the experience of those who identify as First Nations, Métis, or Inuit, and who live off reserve in the provinces.
Proportion of Canadians working from home holds steady for the third consecutive month
Among workers aged 15 to 69 who worked at least half their usual hours, the proportion working from home held steady at 23.5% in November, the third consecutive month of little change.
The number of Canadians working from home was unchanged from October at 4.2 million, but was down by about 400,000 compared with November 2020.
Working from home remains much more prevalent among professional occupations which typically require university education (46.0%) than among occupations which usually require a high school diploma or less (8.0%).
Employment growth led by private-sector employees
The number of private-sector employees rose 107,000 (+0.9%) in November, while there was little change in public sector employment.
In the three months since August, the LFS has recorded an increase of 371,000 (+2.3%) in the number of employees, including an increase of 275,000 (+2.2%) in the private sector. This period of strong growth follows on the heels of job vacancies reaching record levels in the summer. At the beginning of September, Canadian employers were seeking to fill more than 1 million job vacancies, 450,000 more than in the third quarter of 2019 (not seasonally adjusted).
In November 2021, the number of employees exceeded its pre-COVID February 2020 level by 161,000 (+1.3%) in the private sector and by 275,000 (+7.1%) in the public sector.
A notable aspect of the labour market impact of COVID-19 has been its continuing effect on self-employment, with the number of self-employed workers continuing to fall further behind pre-COVID levels over the five months from June to October. While self-employment was little changed in November, the proportion of self-employed workers who transitioned into working as an employee continued to be above the pre-COVID baseline (14.2%, compared with 11.0% in November 2019). The proportion of those who were self-employed in October and were not employed in November 2021 (2.5%), on the other hand, was similar to the level observed two years earlier (not seasonally adjusted).
There were 250,000 (-8.7%) fewer self-employed workers in November 2021 than in February 2020.
First decline in long-term unemployment since August
The number of Canadians unemployed for 27 weeks or more fell 62,000 (-16.2%) in November, the first monthly decline in long-term unemployment since August 2021. Long-term unemployment fell more for women (-43,000; -24.2%) than for men (-19,000; -9.4%), with the decline spread across the core-aged and 55 and older age groups. The decline was particularly sharp for those who had been unemployed for 52 weeks or more (-56,000; -23.4%).
Long-term unemployment as a proportion of total unemployment fell 2.2 percentage points to 25.6% in November, following four months of little change. The share remained elevated compared with the level of 15.6% observed prior to the pandemic.
Unemployment rate recovers for core-aged men and women
The unemployment rate fell among both core-aged men (-0.8 percentage points to 5.1%) and women (-0.7 percentage points to 4.5%) in November, with both rates returning to pre-pandemic levels for the first time.
The unemployment rate also fell among men aged 55 and older (-0.7 percentage points to 6.7%) and women in the same age group (-0.9 percentage points to 6.9%) in November. Both rates remain above February 2020 levels (+1.4 percentage points for men, +1.9 percentage points for women).
After having recovered to February 2020 levels in October 2021, the unemployment rate among young men aged 15 to 24 increased 1.1 percentage points to 13.0% in November, as more of them searched for work. Among young women, the unemployment rate (7.9%) was on par with its pre-COVID level and little changed for the fourth consecutive month.
