Canada's unemployment rate soars to highest level in 8 years

It's a challenging time for job seekers in Canada right now. The unemployment rate rose 6.8 per cent in November, marking the highest in eight years.

A recent survey by Statistics Canada states that while 51,000 people found work, unemployment went up to 6.8 per cent, "the highest rate since January 2017 (excluding the years 2020 and 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic)."

That level has been steadily increasing by 1.7 per cent since April 2023. The latest findings reveal that there are now 87,000 (or 6.1 per cent) more people looking for work. The number of new graduates and other unemployed people who haven't worked in the past year or who have never worked also grew from 39.5 per cent in November 2023 to 46.3 per cent this year.

The level of unemployment also varies depending on where you live. Currently, Newfoundland and Labrador has the highest rate of unemployment, at 10.8 per cent, followed by P.E.I., at 8 per cent. Saskatchewan has the lowest at 5.6 per cent, with Manitoba coming second at 5.8 per cent.

Compared to Quebec, which has an unemployment rate of 5.9 per cent, and B.C. at 5.7 per cent, Ontario had the highest at 7.6 per cent. Toronto's was worse than the provincial average, with 8.1 per cent of people being unemployed right now.

In addition to the alarming rise in unemployment, more Canadians are struggling to find work for an extended period.

"The proportion of long-term unemployed people has increased along with the unemployment rate," reads the report. "Among unemployed persons, 21.7 per cent had been continuously unemployed for 27 weeks or more in November, up 5.9 percentage points from a year earlier."

How unemployment rates changed nationwide in November 2024. Map from StatCan.

Youths (aged 15 to 24) hoping to gain job experience are also having difficulty finding work lately, with the youth unemployment rate currently at 13.9 per cent. On the other hand, unemployment among people aged 55 and older saw a slight increase to 5.3 per cent.

The unemployment rate for women increased to 5.8 per cent, while it remained unchanged for men at 5.7 per cent.

Despite disheartening results, some industries saw a job boost in November.

Around 17,000 Canadians (0.9 per cent) have found jobs in professional, scientific and technical services, while construction added 18,000 more jobs (1.2 per cent). So far, the industry that has added the highest number of workers is wholesale and retail trade, which now has 39,000 (or 1.3 per cent) more workers.