Marks third employment increase in past four months
Employment in Canada increased by 91,000 (+0.4%) in December 2024, driven primarily by gains in full-time work (+56,000; +0.3%).
This marks the third employment increase in the past four months, following a rise of 51,000 in November, according to Statistics Canada.
By year’s end, the number of employed individuals had grown by 413,000 (+2.0%) compared to December 2023. This year-over-year growth rate was consistent with the 2.1% increase seen in December 2023 and aligned with the pre-pandemic average growth rate for December between 2017 and 2019 (+1.9%).
Average hourly wages for employees rose by 3.8% (+$1.32 to $35.77) year-over-year in December. While wages continued to grow, the pace slowed compared to November’s 4.1% increase and October’s 4.9%. This was the slowest growth rate since May 2022.
Notably, wage growth in December was higher for women (+4.2%) than for men (+3.4%).
Public sector drives growth
The employment rate—the proportion of Canadians aged 15 and older who are employed—edged up by 0.2 percentage points to 60.8% in December, marking its first increase since January 2023. However, on a year-over-year basis, the employment rate was down 0.9 percentage points.
This recent growth comes against the backdrop of slowing population growth. Statistics show that the third quarter of 2024 experienced the slowest population growth since the first quarter of 2022.
The unemployment rate fell slightly to 6.7% in December, down 0.1 percentage points from November. However, on a year-over-year basis, the unemployment rate rose by 0.9 percentage points, according to Statistics Canada.
Public sector employment saw a notable increase of 40,000 (+0.9%) in December, marking the second consecutive monthly gain. Over the 12 months to December, public sector employment rose by 156,000 (+3.7%), fueled by expansions in educational services and health care and social assistance.
Private sector employment remained relatively stable in December (+27,000; +0.2%) but rose by 191,000 (+1.4%) year-over-year.
Core-aged men and older workers lead gains
Employment among core-aged men (25 to 54 years old) increased by 30,000 (+0.4%) in December, adding to the 45,000 jobs gained in November. This pushed their employment rate up to 86.7%. Employment for core-aged women was largely unchanged in December, holding steady at an employment rate of 80.1%, according to Statistics Canada.
Among core-aged men, the unemployment rate decreased by 0.2 percentage points to 5.5%, while it dropped by 0.8 percentage points to 5.2% for men aged 55 and older. The youth unemployment rate, however, rose by 0.5 percentage points to 14.4% in December.
Among workers aged 55 and older, employment grew by 41,000 (+1.7%) for men and 21,000 (+1.1%) for women. For men, this marked the first increase since January. On a year-over-year basis, employment for this age group remained relatively stable.
Youth employment (15 to 24 years old) was unchanged for the second consecutive month in December, with the employment rate steady at 53.8%. Over the year, the youth employment rate fell by 2.5 percentage points, continuing a decline that began in April 2023, according to Statistics Canada.
Sectoral and regional highlights
Employment growth was observed across several industries in December. Educational services added 17,000 jobs (+1.1%), continuing its gains from November, while health care and social assistance employment rose by 16,000 (+0.5%). These two sectors collectively accounted for nearly half of the total employment growth in 2024.
In transportation and warehousing, employment increased by 17,000 (+1.6%), rebounding from November's decline. Finance, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing also saw gains of 16,000 (+1.1%), marking the first significant rise since August 2024, according to Statistics Canada.
Provincially, Alberta led employment gains with an increase of 35,000 (+1.4%) in December, pushing its employment growth to 4.0% year-over-year. Ontario (+23,000; +0.3%), British Columbia (+14,000; +0.5%), Nova Scotia (+7,400; +1.4%), and Saskatchewan (+4,000; +0.7%) also saw increases. Manitoba was the only province to record a decline (-7,200; -1.0%).
In Quebec, employment remained stable in December, but the unemployment rate dropped 0.3 percentage points to 5.6% as fewer people searched for work. On a year-over-year basis, the unemployment rate in Quebec rose by 0.9 percentage points.
