According to the most recent Labour Force Survey, the number of individuals employed in Canada nearly reached pre-pandemic levels in August.

Employment in Canada increased by 90,000. These advances from August and previous months brought Canada’s employment up to just 156,000 employees short of the pre-pandemic level in February 2020, which is the closest it has come.

The data from Statistics Canada show the labor market during the week of August 15 to 21. Most Canadian regions had scaled back public health initiatives to near-final levels by this time. Furthermore, the border has been opened to fully vaccinated tourists from the United States. For the first time since March 2020, the tourism business may be able to attract potential American customers.

Increases in employment were primarily in service-producing industries, particularly lodging and food services. Significant advances were also seen in the information, culture, and recreation industry. For the first time since March, the number of individuals employed in the construction industry climbed.

Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Nova Scotia all saw increases in employment. The rest of the provinces saw little to no change.

At 7.1 percent, unemployment was at its lowest level since the outbreak, however, the percentage for visible minorities remained unchanged for the second month in a succession.

Long-term unemployment fell by over 7% in August, although it was still 120 percent higher than pre-pandemic levels.

Employment rate of very recent immigrants continues to rise

Immigrants who arrived in Canada during the last five years have seen their employment rate rise to nearly 70%, up more than six percentage points from August 2019. Part of this is due to a reduction in the number of new immigrants allowed in 2020.

Those who had been in Canada for more than five years had a roughly 59 percent employment rate, down one and a half percentage points from the previous year. More than 61 percent of Canadian-born people were employed, down more than two percentage points from pre-COVID levels.

Visible Minorities’ Employment Rates

In August, the employment rate among Filipino Canadians jumped by nearly five percentage points to around 78 percent.

Black Canadians’ employment rate dropped four percentage points to roughly 72%. White Canadians were employed at a rate of about 71%, unchanged from the previous month.