New labour force data show that Canada is on its way to a full economic recovery, with employment exceeding expectations and unemployment near pre-pandemic levels.

Employers in Canada added 154,000 jobs to the economy in November. Last month’s increase surpassed experts’ expectations of 38,000, which was more in line with October’s figures. Employment increased by a full percentage point over pre-pandemic levels as a result of the gains. In addition, unemployment fell to 6%, which is within 0.3 percentage points of its February 2020 level.

The Labour Force Survey data from Statistics Canada reflect labour market conditions from November 7 to 13. Policies requiring proof of vaccination and other public health precautions were mostly unchanged from October.

The private sector-led hiring in November, both for full-time and part-time employees. Despite this, Canada continues to face labour shortages in industries such as hospitality, retail, and health care. There were about one million job openings across the country in September.

The majority of government agencies are COVID-compliant.

In late October, 19 financial aid programmes came to an end. It may have driven them to accept job offers, according to some observers. The Canadian Recovery Benefit for Individuals, which had been criticised for deterring people from returning to work, was one of these initiatives. The lack of wage growth, according to the Conference Board of Canada, was an even larger disincentive, particularly in low-paid service industries.

“The withdrawal of the [Canadian Recovery Benefit] may have driven some employees back into employment,” argues economist Liam Daly, “though this alone will not be adequate to address the major labour shortages afflicting key industries.”

Despite the increase in employment, RBC economist Nathan Janzen argued that service sector employment was remained “exceptionally low.”

“Accommodation and foodservice employment increased by 5,000 from October, but remains more than 200 thousand below pre-shock levels,” Janzen stated. “Travel and hospitality expenditure has recovered, but with the unemployment rate now significantly lower, it is becoming increasingly evident that there are not enough remaining unemployed employees out there to replace all of those jobs any time soon.”