Employment was little changed in May (+27,000; +0.1%) and the employment rate fell 0.1 percentage points to 61.3%.
The unemployment rate was 6.2% in May, up 0.1 percentage points in the month and 0.9 percentage points on a year-over-year basis.
Employment was up for young women aged 15 to 24 (+48,000; +3.7%) and for women aged 55 and older (+21,000; +1.1%) in May. At the same time, employment declined among core-aged women (aged 25 to 54) (-40,000; -0.6%) and young men (-23,000; -1.6%).
Employment rose in May in health care and social assistance (+30,000; +1.1%), finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing (+29,000; +2.0%), business, building and other support services (+19,000; +2.7%), as well as accommodation and food services (+13,000; +1.1%). It declined in construction (-30,000; -1.9%), transportation and warehousing (-21,000; -1.9%) and utilities (-5,400; -3.5%).
Employment increased in May in Ontario (+50,000; +0.6%), Manitoba (+7,800; +1.1%), and Saskatchewan (+5,400 +0.9%), while there were declines in Alberta (-20,000; -0.8%), Newfoundland and Labrador (-2,100; -0.9%) and Prince Edward Island (-1,100; -1.2%). There was little change in the remaining provinces.
Total hours worked were unchanged in May and were up 1.6% compared with 12 months earlier.
Average hourly wages among employees increased 5.1% (+$1.69 to $34.94) on a year-over-year basis in May, following growth of 4.7% in April (not seasonally adjusted).
The employment rate of returning students aged 20 to 24 was 61.0% in May, 2.9 percentage points lower than in May 2023 (63.9%) (not seasonally adjusted).
Contact information
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