Canada jobless rate up again in October to 5.7pc

Canada’s unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage points in October to 5.7 per cent, marking a fourth monthly increase in the past six months, the government statistical agency said Friday.

Since April, the rate has increased by a total of 0.7 percentage points, after holding steady at a near record-low from December 2022 to April 2023.

Some 18,000 new jobs were created in October, said Statistics Canada -- not enough to keep pace with soaring population growth (up 85,000) and slightly below analysts’ forecast of 25,000 new jobs.

Employment gains in construction (+23,000) and information, culture and recreation (+21,000) were partially offset by decreases in wholesale and retail trade (-22,000) and manufacturing (-19,000), the agency said.

Among those unemployed in September, nearly two-thirds remained so in October. This was a greater proportion than a year earlier, Statistics Canada said, indicating that “job seekers are facing more difficulties finding employment than a year ago.”

It noted also that one in three Canadians reported living in a household experiencing financial difficulties due to inflation, despite average year-over-year price increases recently falling to 3.9 per cent from a June peak of 8.1 per cent.

Most of those persons were living in southern Ontario -- Canada’s industrial heartland and home to one-third of its population.
Quebec residents fared the best in the measure of cost of living stresses.