Economists say the expected economic slowdown in 2023 may not result in higher levels of gig work, unlike previous recessions when levels of contract work and self-employment spiked.
Statistics Canada data also shows that self-employment rose by 3.9 per cent in Canada between October 2008 and October 2009 — an increase of more than 100,000 self-employed people while the number of employed workers decreased by almost half a million. Even as the economy shows signs of slowing, the labour market is still tight, said Yalnizyan. The unemployment rate remains low, at five per cent in December, and the market gained another outsized 104,000 jobs last month.
“So long as that demographic phenomenon continues, we may not see a huge spike in gig work,” she said. And even the promised increase in immigration likely won’t change the tide, she added, unless Canada gets better at matching new immigrants quickly to jobs in their skill set.