Canada’s unemployment rate rose in May despite a gain of 27,000 jobs because the population was growing at a faster pace than employers were adding jobs, according to Statistics Canada. Anne Gaviola has this story and more in Business Matters for June 7, 2024 – Jun 7, 2024target appears close to the coveted “soft landing,” but he also warns consequences of the cooling labour market have not been spread equally.
“This is the soft-landing scenario. It has always been a narrow path, and we have yet to fully stick the landing,” he said.“We are not yet back to two per cent, and we can’t rule out new bumps along the way. But increasingly, we look to be on our way.”But Macklem also pointed out that while the overall labour force cooling has been “reasonably smooth” in aggregate, the data can mask worrying trends for some groups in the jobs market.
It’s a similar situation for many Canadian youth, including new graduates. The unemployment rate stands at 12.7 per cent for those aged 15 to 24, well above the rate of 5.2 per cent among 25-to-54-year-olds and two percentage points higher than the pre-pandemic average for the group.