The latest data on the labour market in Canada released by Statistics Canada show that the employment rate for recent immigrants is at an all time high!
Overall, unemployment in Canada declined 0.2 percentage points to 5.3 percent, the lowest level since comparable records began in 1976. Statistics Canada measures the unemployment rate as a percentage of the labour force. Provinces relaxed public health regulations throughout the reference week.
“With the unemployment rate at such a low level, practically every industry is experiencing labour shortages, including those in the hospitality business that has yet to recover fully,” says Nathan Janzen, Assistant Chief Economist at RBC Economics.
Employment growth is surpassing the rate of population expansion.
In March, total employment in Canada increased by 73,000, owing to increases in full-time jobs.
Since September 2021, employment growth has surpassed population growth. Since September, when Canada’s employment began to recover from the pandemic, employment has increased by 2.4 percent, compared to 0.8 percent for the population aged 15 and up.
The slow pace of population increase, along with numerous job vacancies and rapid employment growth, will almost certainly be used to justify allowing foreign workers to enter the country more easily. Opening the door to international talent is one method to mitigate downward labour market pressure.
In an attempt to resolve labour shortages, Canada introduced measures to support temporary foreign workers this week. Some of these measures, such as a two-fold increase in the validity period of the Labour Market Impact Assessment, have already taken effect (LMIA). LMIAs are essential for some work permits since they effectively establish that a foreign worker will not take a Canadian worker’s job. There has been an increase in the maximum period of employment for employees in the High-Wage and Global Talent Streams from two to three years. Furthermore, the number of low-wage jobs that firms in seasonal industries can fill through the TFWP is no longer limited.
On April 30, two new measures will take effect, including new restrictions governing the percentage of a company’s workforce that can be foreign workers. Canada will stop rejecting online LMIA application for low-wage occupations in the hospitality, food service, and retail sectors with an unemployment rate of 6% or higher.
This year, Canada plans to admit a new record number of permanent immigrants. Canada aims to welcome 431,645 newcomers in 2022, according to the Canada Immigration Plan 2022-2024.
The majority of Canada’s population growth is due to immigration. Thanks to immigration, Canada’s population grew at the quickest rate in the G7, according to Statistics Canada’s 2021 census. Between the 2016 and 2021 censuses, four out of five of the 1.8 million persons added to the population were either temporary residents or permanent immigrants. Natural increase, the gap between births and deaths, accounted for the remaining population growth.
