Canada Employment Update

April 2022

The Canadian employment landscape is constantly changing. Keep up-to-date with the most recent trends with our monthly Employment Update.

  • Employment at 19,601,000 in April

    Employment was little changed in April (61.9 per cent) after two consecutive months of growth. The number of public and private sector employees was little changed in April for the second consecutive month. The number of self-employed was unchanged in April and has not shown notable growth since March 2021.

  • Employment rose in New Brunswick

    The number of people working in New Brunswick increased by 6,700 (+1.8 per cent) in April, surpassing its pre-COVID February 2020 level for the first time.

  • Employment grew in professional, scientific, and technical services

    The number of people working in professional, scientific, and technical services increased by 15,000 (+0.9 per cent) in April.

  • Unemployment rate decreased 0.1% from March

    After reaching a record low of 5.3 per cent in March, the unemployment rate edged down 0.1 percentage points to 5.2 per cent in April.

  • Adjusted unemployment rate remained the same in April

    Adjusted unemployment rate includes those who wanted a job but did not look for one.

  • Part-time employment sees increase in April

    The number of workers in part-time jobs—that is, who usually work less than 30 hours per week—rose by 47,000 (+1.3 per cent) in April. Employment among women aged 25 to 54 grew by 43,000 (+0.7 per cent) in April, with all gains in part-time work. This was offset by a decline in employment among core-aged men (-36,000; -0.5 per cent) in April, primarily in part-time work (-25,000; -6.5 per cent).

  • Employment declined in Quebec

    After increasing in February and March, employment declined by 27,000 (-0.6 per cent) in Quebec in April, entirely in full-time work and driven by declines in construction and educational services.

  • Average hourly wages increased on a year-over-year basis

    Average hourly wages were up 3.3 per cent (+$0.99 to $31.06) year over year, similar to the growth observed in March (+$1.03; +3.4 per cent).

  • Work-from-home employees decline

    The proportion of workers who report that they work exclusively from home continued to decline in April, down 1.7 percentage points to 19.0 per cent

  • Labour force participation little changed

    The labour force participation rate was 65.3 per cent in April, little changed from March.

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Industry Trends

Acara summarizes the latest industry trends each month to keep you informed as you make decisions about the future of your business.

  • 94% of women in tech feel more is expected from them than their male co-workers.

    Almost all (94 per cent) of women working in the field of technology feel that more is expected from them at work compared to their male co-workers.

  • 61% of women in tech feel they were passed over for a promotion or lost a job opportunity due to their gender

    61 per cent of women believe they were not promoted or lost a job opportunity due to their gender. And 74 per cent of women believe their opinions in meeting were dismissed due to their gender.

  • 75% of women (or other women they work with) are consistently asked to handle more administrative tasks than their male colleagues

    75 per cent of women in the tech field said they (or other women they work with) are consistently asked to handle more administrative tasks than their male colleagues. Specifically, women have been asked to do the following:

    • Send meeting invites (44 per cent)
    • Reserve meeting rooms (43 per cent)
    • Prepare meeting materials and equipment (40 per cent)
    • Take meeting notes (38 per cent)
    • Prepare refreshments (38 per cent)
    • Order meals (35 per cent)
    • Set up the meeting room (29 per cent)
    • Get coffee (23 per cent)

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