Payroll employment continued to erode in November, according to new data from Statistics Canada.
The national statistical agency reported that employment numbers dropped by 88,300 workers in November, although the bulk of this was driven by a strike in Quebec’s education sector. Excluding the strike’s impact, employment was down by 25,300 in November, following a drop of 24,000 the previous month.
Alongside education, employment dropped in seven other sectors, including retail trade, accommodation and food services, and wholesale trade. Declines were partly offset by gains in the health care and social assistance, and public administration, sectors.
StatsCan also reported that job vacancies edged higher in November, after a series of monthly declines. Despite the uptick, the number of vacancies was down by 34.9% from a peak in May 2022.
The combination of a decline in employment and an increase in vacancies resulted in total labour demand remaining flat from the previous month. For the year-to-date, total demand was down 0.2%, StatsCan noted.
Alongside the results in labour demand, average weekly earnings rose by 0.6% in November, StatsCan said.
On an annual basis, average weekly earnings increased by 4.1% in November, following a 3.9% increase in October, it reported.