Labour Force Survey, September 2024
Released: 2024-10-11
Highlights
Employment rose by 47,000 (+0.2%) in September while the employment rate declined 0.1 percentage points to 60.7%. The unemployment rate fell 0.1 percentage points to 6.5%.
In September, employment rose among youth aged 15 to 24 (+33,000; +1.2%) and core-aged women (25 to 54 years old) (+21,000; +0.3%).
There were more people employed in information, culture and recreation (+22,000; +2.6%), wholesale and retail trade (+22,000; +0.8%) and professional, scientific and technical services (+21,000; +1.1%) in September.
Employment increased in Ontario (+43,000; +0.5%), Quebec (+22,000; +0.5%), Manitoba (+5,100; +0.7%) and Nova Scotia (+3,000; +0.6%) in September, while there were declines in British Columbia (-18,000; -0.6%) and New Brunswick (-4,100; -1.0%).
Total hours worked fell 0.4% in September but were up 1.2% compared with 12 months earlier.
Average hourly wages among employees increased 4.6% (+$1.58 to $35.59) on a year-over-year basis in September, following growth of 5.0% in August (not seasonally adjusted).
Employment rises in September following four months of little change
Employment rose by 47,000 (+0.2%) in September, following four consecutive months of little change. Despite the employment gain, the employment rate—the proportion of the population aged 15 and older who is employed—fell 0.1 percentage points to 60.7% in September.
The employment rate has followed a downward trend since reaching a recent peak of 62.4% in January and February 2023, as growth in the population aged 15 and older in the Labour Force Survey (LFS) outpaced employment growth. On a year-over-year basis, employment was up by 313,000 (+1.5%) in September, while the population aged 15 and older in the LFS was up by 1.2 million (+3.6%).
Chart 1
Employment rate falls in September, continuing downward trend
The number of private sector employees increased for the second consecutive month, rising by 61,000 (+0.5%) in September and bringing the year-over-year increase in private sector employment to 193,000 (+1.5%). Public sector employment fell by 24,000 (-0.5%) in September, but was up 3.0% (+128,000) compared with 12 months earlier. Self-employment was little changed in the month and on a year-over-year basis.
Full-time employment rose by 112,000 (+0.7%) in September, the largest gain since May 2022. The increase in September was partially offset by a decline in part-time work (-65,000; -1.7%). On a year-over-year basis, part-time employment rose at a faster pace (+2.0%; +72,000) than full-time employment (+1.4%; +240,000).
Population totals in the Labour Force Survey and official demographic estimates
On September 25, Statistics Canada announced that the population of Canada had reached an estimated 41,288,599 on July 1, 2024, and had increased by 1,205,115 (+3.0%) over the previous 12 months.
While the Labour Force Survey (LFS) population totals are generally aligned with official demographic estimates, numbers from the two sources should be compared with caution, given the different goals of the programs and because of a number of methodological differences reflecting the objectives of the LFS. Official demographic estimates should be considered the official measure of population change in Canada. More information on how population totals in the LFS are calculated can be found in the article Interpreting population totals from the Labour Force Survey.
Youth and core-aged women drive employment gains in the month
Employment rose among youth aged 15 to 24 in September (+33,000; +1.2%), reflecting gains among both young men (+19,000; +1.4%) and young women (+14,000; +1.0%). The youth employment rate was little changed at 54.0% in September, but was down 3.5 percentage points on a year-over-year basis.
Infographic 1
Employment rates by age group
In September, employment rose among core-aged (25 to 54 years) women (+21,000; +0.3%) and held steady among core-aged men. The employment rates of core-aged women (80.5%) and core-aged men (86.5%) were each down 1.3 percentage points on a year-over-year basis.
For people aged 55 to 64, there was little change in the level of employment in September. The employment rate for this group held steady at 64.2% both in the month and on a year-over-year basis.
Unemployment rate ticks down for the first time since January
The unemployment rate fell 0.1 percentage points to 6.5% in September, following an increase of 0.2 percentage points in August. This was the first decline in the unemployment rate since January.
The decline in the overall unemployment rate was driven by youth aged 15 to 24, whose unemployment rate fell 1.0 percentage points to 13.5% in September. Despite the decrease in the month, the youth unemployment rate was up 2.8 percentage points on a year-over-year basis in September, reflecting increases among both young men (+3.7 percentage points to 15.3%) and young women (+1.8 percentage points to 11.5%).
Chart 2
Unemployment rate falls to 6.5% in September
Infographic 2
Unemployment rates by age group
The unemployment rate of core-aged women rose 0.3 percentage points to 5.3% in September, while for core-aged men it was little changed at 5.6%. Among people aged 55 and older, the unemployment rate decreased 0.2 percentage points to 4.9% in September, following four months of little change.
Unemployment rate up among core-aged Black and South Asian Canadians on a year-over-year basis
Among the three largest racialized population groups, the unemployment rate in September was up on a year-over-year basis for core-aged Black Canadians (+3.1 percentage points to 11.0%) and core-aged South Asian Canadians (+0.9 percentage points to 7.3%), while it was little changed at 5.9% for Chinese Canadians of the same age group (three-month moving averages, not seasonally adjusted).
In comparison, the unemployment rate of core-aged people who were not part of a racialized group and not Indigenous rose from 4.0% to 4.4% in the 12 months to September.
Labour force participation rate falls
The labour force participation rate—the proportion of the population aged 15 and older who are employed or looking for work—fell 0.2 percentage points to 64.9% in September, the third decline in four months. On a year-over-year basis, the overall participation rate was down 0.7 percentage points.
The participation rate for youth aged 15 to 24 fell 0.4 percentage points to 62.4% in September, and has generally followed a downward trend after reaching a peak of 66.0% in February 2023. Youth labour force participation has historically fallen during periods when the unemployment rate trended up, as young people may delay entering the labour market or pursue full-time studies without holding or seeking a job when labour market conditions are less favourable.
The participation rate of people aged 25 to 54 held steady at 88.4% in September, as a decline from the previous month among core-aged men was offset by an increase among core-aged women. While participation rates were down on a year-over-year basis for both core-aged men (-0.6 percentage points to 91.7%) and women (-0.7 percentage points to 85.0%), they both remained higher than their averages observed from 2017 to 2019 (91.2% for men and 83.4% for women), just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The participation rate of people aged 55 to 64 was 67.5% in September, little changed in the month and from 12 months earlier.
Of those not in the labour force in September, the majority were retired (55.1% or 6.6 million). People going to school and not working or searching for work comprised the second-largest share (17.6% or 2.1 million). Compared with 12 months earlier, people going to school and not participating in the labour force accounted for a larger share of all those not in the labour force (+1.4 percentage points) (not seasonally adjusted).
Employment rises in three industries
Employment increased in the information, culture and recreation industry by 22,000 (+2.6%) in September, following seven months of little change. The increase was concentrated in Quebec. On a year-over-year basis, employment in the industry in Canada was up 3.1% (+26,000).
Chart 3
Employment rises in information, culture and recreation, wholesale and retail trade as well as professional, scientific and technical services
In wholesale and retail trade, employment rose 22,000 (+0.8%) in September, the first increase since January. Despite this increase, employment in wholesale and retail trade has generally trended down since August 2023, falling 95,000 (-3.2%) over the period.
In professional, scientific and technical services, employment increased 21,000 (+1.1%) in September, offsetting the decline in August (-16,000; -0.8%). Compared with 12 months earlier, employment in the industry was up by 3.1% (+58,000).
Employment increases led by Ontario and Quebec, while British Columbia and New Brunswick post declines
Employment in Ontario rose by 43,000 (+0.5%) in September, with gains in full-time work. The employment increase in September extends an upward trend for the province that began in December 2023, with cumulative gains over the period totalling 198,000 (+2.5%). The unemployment rate in Ontario decreased 0.2 percentage points to 6.9% in September, but was up 0.9 percentage points from the same month in 2023.
In Quebec, employment increased by 22,000 (+0.5%) in September, boosted by growth in full-time work (+51,000; +1.4%). Despite the increase in September, employment in Quebec was little changed from a year earlier. The unemployment rate in Quebec in September (5.5%) was little changed in the month, and was up 1.0 percentage points on a year-over-year basis.
Employment also increased in Manitoba (+5,100; +0.7%) and Nova Scotia (+3,000; +0.6%) in September. The unemployment rate was little changed in both provinces, at 5.7% in Manitoba and 6.3% in Nova Scotia.
Map 1
Unemployment rate by province and territory, September 2024
In British Columbia, employment declined by 18,000 (-0.6%) in September, following four months of little change. The employment rate in the province (60.0%) was down 0.5 percentage points from August and down 1.8 percentage points from September 2023.
In New Brunswick, employment decreased (-4,100; -1.0%) in September, the first significant decline since September 2023. The unemployment rate in the province was little changed at 6.7% in September.
Unemployment rate up more steeply in Canada than in the United States on a year-over-year basis
By adjusting Canadian data to US concepts, direct comparisons can be made between the labour market situations in Canada and the United States. For more information, see "Measuring Employment and Unemployment in Canada and the United States – A comparison."
Adjusted to US concepts, the unemployment rate in Canada for September (5.4%) was 1.3 percentage points higher than in the United States (4.1%). Compared with 12 months earlier, the unemployment rate increased by 0.8 percentage points in Canada, while it rose slightly (+0.3 percentage points) in the United States.
The employment rate has trended down in Canada over the past 12 months, falling 1.1 percentage points to 61.3% (adjusted to US concepts). In the United States, the employment rate fell 0.2 percentage points to 60.2% over the same period.
Small area estimates of employment and unemployment rates for self-contained labour areas
On September 17, Statistics Canada released small area estimates of labour force characteristics for sub-provincial geographies, including for census metropolitan areas (CMAs), census agglomerations (CAs) and self-contained labour areas (SLAs). SLAs are functional areas composed of census subdivisions outside of CMAs and CAs, grouped according to commuting patterns. Small area estimation methods produce reliable estimates by using modelling techniques that combine survey data from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) with auxiliary data from Employment Insurance Statistics and demographic projections.
With today's LFS release, small area estimates for July 2024 have been added to the interactive dashboard: Labour market indicators, census metropolitan areas, census agglomerations and self-contained labour areas. This dashboard features an interactive map, charts and tables featuring the unemployment rates, employment rates and levels of employment across these geographies.
In the spotlight: Compared with Canadian-born workers, recent immigrants less likely to work in a job related to their field of study and more likely to report being overqualified for their job
As new entrants to the Canadian labour market, recent immigrants often face unique challenges finding work related to their education, training and skills. In September, the LFS collected additional information to better understand the fit or mismatch between workers' jobs and their education, training and experience.
Among core-aged workers with a post-secondary diploma or degree in September, 64.8% of recent immigrants (those who had become permanent residents in the previous five years) indicated that their job or business was completely or mostly related to their field of education or training. This was 7.4 percentage points lower than the corresponding proportion for workers born in Canada (72.2%) (not seasonally adjusted).
Among those who were working in a job mostly not related, or not at all related, to their field of education or training, Canadian-born workers (56.8%) were much more likely than recent immigrants (20.4%) to indicate this was mainly because they had chosen to work in a different type of job.
Moreover, just over 3 in 10 (30.5%) core-aged recent immigrants with a postsecondary diploma or degree reported that they were overqualified for their job, a proportion significantly higher than for workers born in Canada (19.7%). More established immigrants (those who had become permanent residents more than 10 years ago) were slightly more likely to indicate that they were overqualified (22.8%) compared with their Canadian-born counterparts.
Core-aged immigrants with post-secondary qualifications who reported being overqualified for their job were most likely to work in health care and social assistance (15.6%), manufacturing (11.9%) and professional, scientific and technical services (10.1%).
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Sustainable Development Goals
On January 1, 2016, the world officially began implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development—the United Nations' transformative plan of action that addresses urgent global challenges over the next 15 years. The plan is based on 17 specific sustainable development goals.
The Labour Force Survey is an example of how Statistics Canada supports the reporting on the Global Goals for Sustainable Development. This release will be used in helping to measure the following goals:
Note to readers
The Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates for September are for the week of September 15 to 21, 2024.
The LFS estimates are based on a sample and are therefore subject to sampling variability. As a result, monthly estimates will show more variability than trends observed over longer time periods. For more information, see "Interpreting Monthly Changes in Employment from the Labour Force Survey."
This analysis focuses on differences between estimates that are statistically significant at the 68% confidence level.
LFS estimates at the Canada level do not include the territories.
The LFS estimates are the first in a series of labour market indicators released by Statistics Canada, which includes indicators from programs such as the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (SEPH); Employment Insurance Statistics; and the Job Vacancy and Wage Survey. For more information on the conceptual differences between employment measures from the LFS and those from the SEPH, refer to section 8 of the Guide to the Labour Force Survey (71-543-G).
Face-to-face personal interviewing resumed in November 2022. Telephone interviews continued to be conducted by interviewers working mainly from their homes rather than Statistics Canada's call centres, as they have since March 2020. About 48,500 interviews were completed in September 2024 and in-depth data quality evaluations conducted each month confirm that the LFS continues to produce an accurate portrait of Canada's labour market.
The employment rate is the number of employed people as a percentage of the population aged 15 and older. The rate for a particular group (for example, youths aged 15 to 24) is the number employed in that group as a percentage of the population for that group.
The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed people as a percentage of the labour force (employed and unemployed).
The participation rate is the number of employed and unemployed people as a percentage of the population aged 15 and older.
Full-time employment consists of persons who usually work 30 hours or more per week at their main or only job.
Part-time employment consists of persons who usually work less than 30 hours per week at their main or only job.
Total hours worked refers to the number of hours actually worked at the main job by the respondent during the reference week, including paid and unpaid hours. These hours reflect temporary decreases or increases in work hours (for example, hours lost due to illness, vacation, holidays or weather; or more hours worked due to overtime).
In general, month-to-month or year-to-year changes in the number of people employed in an age group reflect the net effect of two factors: (1) the number of people who changed employment status between reference periods, and (2) the number of employed people who entered or left the age group (including through aging, death or migration) between reference periods.
Seasonal adjustment
Unless otherwise stated, this release presents seasonally adjusted estimates, which facilitate comparisons by removing the effects of seasonal variations. For more information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questions.
Population growth in the Labour Force Survey
The LFS target population includes all persons aged 15 years and older whose usual place of residence is in Canada, with the exception of those living on reserves, full-time members of the regular Armed Forces and persons living in institutions (including inmates of penal institutions and patients in hospitals and nursing homes).
The LFS target population includes temporary residents—that is, those with a valid work or study permit, their families, and refugee claimants—as well as permanent residents (landed immigrants) and the Canadian-born.
Information gathered from LFS respondents is weighted to represent the survey target population using population calibration totals. These totals are updated each month, using the most recently available information on population changes, including changes in the number of non-permanent residents. LFS population calibration totals are derived from Canada's official population estimates using similar sources and methods, with minor adjustments being made to reflect exclusions from the LFS target population.
Information on racialized groups
Data on "racialized groups" are derived from the "visible minority" variable. "Visible minority" refers to whether a person belongs to one of the visible minority groups defined by the Employment Equity Act. The Employment Equity Act defines visible minorities as "persons, other than Aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour." The visible minority population consists mainly of the following groups: South Asian, Chinese, Black, Filipino, Latin American, Arab, Southeast Asian, West Asian, Korean and Japanese.
Next release
The next release of the LFS will be on November 8. October data will reflect labour market conditions during the week of October 13 to 19.
Products
More information about the concepts and use of the Labour Force Survey is available online in the Guide to the Labour Force Survey (71-543-G).
The product "Labour Force Survey in brief: Interactive app" (14200001) is also available. This interactive visualization application provides seasonally adjusted estimates by province, sex, age group and industry.
The product "Labour Market Indicators, by province and census metropolitan area, seasonally adjusted" (71-607-X) is also available. This interactive dashboard provides customizable access to key labour market indicators.
The product "Labour Market Indicators, by province, territory and economic region, unadjusted for seasonality" (71-607-X) is also available. This dynamic web application provides access to labour market indicators for Canada, provinces, territories and economic regions.
The product "Labour market indicators, census metropolitan areas, census agglomerations and self-contained labour areas: Interactive dashboard" (71-607-X) is also available. This dashboard allows users to visually explore the estimates using an interactive map as well as time series charts and tables.
The product Labour Force Survey: Public Use Microdata File (71M0001X) is also available. This public use microdata file contains non-aggregated data for a wide variety of variables collected from the Labour Force Survey. The data have been modified to ensure that no individual or business is directly or indirectly identified. This product is for users who prefer to do their own analysis by focusing on specific subgroups in the population or by cross-classifying variables that are not in our catalogued products.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
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