Labour Market Report - October 2023

The latest Statistics Canada local labour market report customized for the Brantford CMA for last month is now available.

• October Unemployment Rate: Brantford 4.1% [-] Ontario 6.2% [+] Canada 5.7% [+]

Be sure to review the participation rate and the employment rate (reported as percentages), as well as the labour force, the employed, and the unemployed values (reported as absolute numbers). These give a better picture of changes in the market.

LABOUR MARKET REPORT

The report includes annual rates for the last 10 years, comparing Brantford to surrounding CMAs as well as the provincial and national levels.

Overview from Statistics Canada

• Visit the Statistics Canada page for full information.

Employment was little changed in October (+18,000; +0.1%) and the employment rate fell 0.1 percentage points to 61.9%.

The unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage points to 5.7%, marking the fourth monthly increase in the past six months.

Employment was up in construction (+23,000; +1.5%) and information, culture and recreation (+21,000; +2.5%) in October. This was offset by decreases in wholesale and retail trade (-22,000; -0.7%) and manufacturing (-19,000; -1.0%).

Employment increased in four provinces in October, led by Alberta (+38,000; +1.5%), while it declined in Quebec (-22,000; -0.5%).

Total hours worked were virtually unchanged in October but were up by 2.1% on a year-over-year basis.

On a year-over-year basis, average hourly wages rose 4.8% (+$1.56 to $34.08) in October, following an increase of 5.0% in September.

Employment holds steady in October

Employment was little changed in October (+18,000; +0.1%), after increasing by 64,000 (+0.3%) in September and by 40,000 (+0.2%) in August. Both full-time and part-time employment held steady in October.

The employment rate—the proportion of the working-age population that is employed—fell 0.1 percentage points to 61.9% in October, as the population aged 15 and older in the Labour Force Survey (LFS) increased by 85,000 (+0.3%).

Since January 2023, employment growth has averaged 28,000 per month, while growth in the population aged 15 and older in the LFS has averaged 81,000 per month. The employment rate in October (61.9%) was down from the recent peak of 62.5% recorded in January 2023, but was little changed from October 2022 (62.0%). The employment rate has varied between 61.9% and 62.0% since July 2023.

Employment up among men aged 55 and older

Among men aged 55 and older, employment rose by 31,000 (+1.3%) in October, the first increase for this group since April. Employment was unchanged for women aged 55 and older.

Employment among core-aged (aged 25 to 54) men and women was little changed in October. While there was an increase (+28,000; +0.5%) in full-time employment among core-aged women, this was offset by a decrease in part-time employment for that same group (-24,000; -2.4%).

For those aged 15 to 24, employment in October was also little changed. Increases among male youth (+14,000; +1.0%) were concentrated in part-time employment but were offset by decreases in female youth employment (-19,000; -1.5%), which were concentrated in full-time work.

Unemployment rate increases in October, continuing upward trend since April

The unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage points to reach 5.7% in October, marking the fourth monthly increase in the past six months. Since April, the rate has increased by 0.7 percentage points, after holding steady at a near record-low 5.0% from December 2022 to April 2023.

There were 1.2 million unemployed persons in October, an increase of 171,000 (+16.2%) since April. Among those who were unemployed in September, 60.1% remained unemployed in October—a greater proportion than 12 months earlier (55.4%) (not seasonally adjusted), and an indication that job seekers are facing more difficulties finding employment than a year ago.

As unemployment has increased and job vacancies have decreased in recent months, the labour force participation rate—the proportion of the population aged 15 and older that was either employed or looking for work—has remained relatively high. The participation rate in October (65.6%) was unchanged from the previous month and up 0.2 percentage points on a year-over-year basis.

Local Top Line

• October Unemployment Rate: Brantford 4.1% [-] Ontario 6.2% [+] Canada 5.7% [+]
• The local unemployment rate decreased by 0.6 month over month.
• The local labour force expanded by 300 month over month.
• The number of employed increased by 900 month over month.
• The number of unemployed decreased by 500 month over month.
• When compared to the surrounding CMAs of Hamilton, Niagara, Waterloo, Guelph, and London, Brantford’s unemployment rate is in the middle.