News Workforce Statistics
Canada adds 41,000 jobs in April, average hourly wage rises to $33.38

The Canadian economy added 41,000 jobs in April, with all of the gains coming in part-time work, according to Statistics Canada. And hourly wages rose 5.2% year-over-year, up $1.66 to $33.38.

The unemployment rate was 5% last month, which has been unchanged since December 2022, the agency said.

“The number of unemployed persons stood at 1.1 million in April, and the majority had been unemployed for 13 weeks or less (64.3%). The proportion who had been unemployed for 27 weeks or more—the long-term unemployed—was 15.4%, down from 19.5% a year earlier, and in line with the pre-pandemic proportion of 15.3% in February 2020,” it said.

Employment increased in wholesale and retail trade (up 24,000); transportation and warehousing (up 17,000); and information, culture and recreation (up 16,000). On the flip side, employment dropped in business, building and other support services (down 14,000).

Regionally, employment increased in Ontario by 33,000 jobs and Prince Edward Island (2,200 jobs). Manitoba’s employment dropped by 4,000 and there was little change in other provinces, it said.