Canada added 55,000 new jobs to the economy in December, a Labour Force Survey by Statistics Canada has found.
According to the survey that studied economic conditions during the week of December 5 to 11, more core-aged newcomers were employed in Canada than before the pandemic started.
Most new skilled migrants to Canada were employed in full-time jobs in December, with significant rises in employment in two critical sectors – professional, scientific, and technical services, and wholesale and retail trade.
Employment for skilled migrants in Canada’s professional, scientific, and technical services rose by 26,000 jobs (31.3 per cent) in December.
Over the same period, employment in wholesale and retail trade rose by 20,000 jobs (28.7 per cent).
Statistics Canada elaborated that the large gains in employment in these two industries reflect Canada’s integration of skilled migrants with both higher and lower skill levels into the labour market.
According to the National Occupational Classification (NOC), jobs in the professional, scientific, and technical services field tend to be “high-skilled,” while the wholesale and retail trade sector entails “low skilled” occupations.
Express Entry, which is Canada’s primary pathway for skilled migrants, focuses on the intake of high-skilled workers.
On the other hand, other immigration pathways such as Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) focus on admitting more low skilled migrants to Canada.
Newcomers are described as migrants who arrived in Canada within the last five years, with the core working-age set between 25 and 54 years.
In addition to newcomers, core-aged skilled migrants who landed in Canada more than five years ago also enjoyed a high employment rate in December (almost 83 per cent).
Moreover, core-aged Canadian-born skilled workers also enjoyed an employment rate of around 86 per cent.
Solid employment rates were recorded for visible minorities in Canada as well, with Southeast Asian and Filipino Canadians enjoying a four-percentage point increase in their employment rates to almost 71 per cent in December.
The survey week of December 5 to 11 was just before the outbreak of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 in Canada, following which public health measures have been ramped up in the country.
