Canada Employment Update

December 2022 Overview

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

  • Employment at 19,770,000 in December - up 0.5%

    Employment rose by 104,000 (+0.5 per cent) in December.

    The number of employees in the private sector rose by 112,000 (+0.9 per cent) in December, the largest increase since February 2022. This brought the year-over-year increase in private sector employees to 325,000 (+2.6 per cent).

    In contrast, the number of employees in the public sector and the number of self-employed workers were both little changed on a monthly and year-over-year basis in December.

  • Employment in Ontario increased- 0.5%

    In Ontario, employment grew by 42,000 (+0.5 per cent) in December and was up 105,000 (+1.4 per cent) on a year-over-year basis.

  • Adjusted unemployment falls 6.8%

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

  • Number of people working in construction rose 2.3%

    The number of people working in construction rose by 35,000 (+2.3 per cent) in December.

  • Unemployment rate declined in December - 5.0%

    The unemployment rate declined by 0.1 per centage points to 5.0 percent in December.

  • Full-time employment rose in December - 85k

    The number of people employed on a full-time basis increased by 85,000 (+0.5 per cent) in December.

    Full-time work also led employment growth over the course of the year ending in December 2022. On a year-over-year basis, employment was up by 394,000 (+2.0 per cent), entirely due
    to gains in full-time work (+401,000; +2.5 per cent).

  • Work-from-home employees little changed - 15.8%

    The proportion of workers who usually work exclusively at home (15.8 per cent) was little changed in December.

  • Average hourly wages increased on a year-over-year basis - 5.1%

    Average hourly wages of employees rose 5.1 per cent (+$1.57 to $32.06) compared with December 2021 (not seasonally adjusted).

  • Total hours worked up from 2021 - 1.4%

    Total hours worked were little changed on a monthly basis in December, and up 1.4 per cent compared with 12 months earlier.

  • Labour force participation increases - 65.0%

    The labour force participation rate increased 0.2 per centage points to 65.0 per cent.

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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.

  • 35% of employers believe that employee turnover has increased compared to last year.

  • 64% of companies agree that turnover places a heavy burden on existing employees.

  • 36% of employees leave a company for better pay or benefits offered elsewhere.

  • 16% of hiring managers say that the churn costs of turnover can run as high as $100,000+ per year.

    The churn costs—including the rehire cost, lost productivity, and more—of employees leaving a company average over $41,000 each year.

    However, 16 percent of hiring managers say the cost can run as high as $100,000 or more per year.

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