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Canada's Unemployment Rate Hits 6.6% as Job Market Struggles

August sees modest job gains but rising unemployment, with significant challenges for students and recent immigrants.

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A la Vie en Rose distribution centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024. Photographer: Graham Hughes/Bloomberg
Canada's rate of layoffs is up more than 20 per cent from a year ago.
Canada's unemployment rate is at its highest since May of 2017, excluding the pandemic.

Overview

  • Canada added 22,000 jobs in August, failing to keep pace with population growth.
  • Unemployment rate increased by 0.2 percentage points from July, reaching the highest level since 2017 outside the pandemic.
  • Students and recent immigrants faced particularly high unemployment rates, with Black students experiencing a 29.5% jobless rate.
  • Wages rose by 5% year-over-year, but recent immigrants saw a decline in wage growth.
  • Economists predict continued interest rate cuts by the Bank of Canada amid the cooling job market.