In the latest data released by Statistics Canada, payroll employment in Canada witnessed a decline of 88,300 (-0.5%) in November 2023, following a smaller decrease of 24,000 (-0.1%) in October. The primary contributor to this dip was the education sector, particularly elementary and secondary schools, which experienced a substantial drop of 63,000 (-7.5%) due to strike action in Quebec.
When excluding the impact of the strike, the overall decrease in national payroll employment was 25,300 (-0.1%) in November. Additional sectors that recorded losses included retail trade, accommodation and food services, and wholesale trade. However, gains were observed in health care and social assistance, as well as public administration.
The significant decline in the educational services sector, particularly in Quebec, was attributed to public sector strike action in November. The Fédération autonome de l’enseignement, representing over 66,000 teachers, initiated strikes, leading to the exclusion of those on strike from the payroll employment count for the month. Despite this setback, the data suggests that the impact is likely to be temporary as strike actions have since subsided.
Retail trade continued its downward trend in November with a decrease of 7,000 (-0.3%), marking the third consecutive monthly decline. Cumulative losses since September reached 12,500 (-0.6%). Notable decreases were observed in various subsectors, including sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument, book, and miscellaneous retailers.
The wholesale trade sector saw a second consecutive decline in payroll employment in November, falling by 5,000 (-0.6%). Accommodation and food services experienced a decrease of 5,600 (-0.4%), continuing a downward trend since June. However, there was a slight offset with gains in traveller accommodation.
In contrast, payroll employment in health care and social assistance increased by 6,700 (+0.3%) in November, maintaining an upward trend since September 2022. The sector recorded a cumulative gain of 123,500 (+5.6%) over the past 15 months.
Public administration witnessed its fifth consecutive monthly increase in payroll employment, rising by 3,900 (+0.3%) in November. This trend has been ongoing since July, resulting in a total gain of 28,900 (+2.3%) over this period. Additionally, average weekly earnings increased by 4.1% year over year, reaching $1,228 in November.
Job vacancies edged up to 653,000 in November, signaling a positive shift after five consecutive monthly declines from May to September. The job vacancy rate increased by 0.1 percentage points to 3.7%, the first uptick since January 2023. Accommodation and food services, retail trade, and manufacturing saw notable increases in job vacancies.
The unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio held steady at 1.9 unemployed persons for every job vacancy in November. This ratio is up from 1.2 in January 2023, primarily due to fewer job vacancies (-24.4%) and an increase in the number of unemployed persons (+18.6%).
Ontario experienced a notable increase in job vacancies by 9.8%, reaching 237,100 in November. The job vacancy rate was highest in British Columbia (4.2%) and lowest in Prince Edward Island (2.5%).