Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
Canada's labour market shook off more of the shock from COVID-19 by adding 153,700 jobs in November, pushing the unemployment rate to a pandemic-era low and sending the share of the core working population with a job to an all-time high.
The growth dropped the unemployment rate to six per cent, leaving the headline rate within 0.3 percentage points of the 5.7 per cent recorded in February 2020 just before the pandemic struck.
Statistics Canada said the unemployment rate would have been 7.8 per cent in November had it included Canadians who wanted to work but didn't search for a job, down from 8.7 per cent in October.
Gains were seen across a range of industries and provinces, but didn't take into effect the situation in British Columbia because the jobs survey took place before severe flooding struck.
Driving a drop in unemployment was a plunge of 62,000 in the number of long-term unemployed who have been out of job for six months or more, marking the first monthly drop since August. Statistics Canada said the decline was especially sharp for those out of work for at least 12 months.
Total hours worked also returned to pre-pandemic levels in November.
"So many positive trends tell us that finally, these workers are seeing the light at the end of the COVID tunnel," said Tu Nguyen, an economist with accounting firm RSM Canada.
Gains followed the end of a federal unemployment benefit that some economists suggested may have jump-started job searches. But Kaylie Tiessen, an economist with the Unifor union, said the Canada Recovery Benefit, alongside business subsidies, could be credited for saving jobs by helping impacted households keep their purchasing power.
"Those things together prevented many businesses from collapsing, which meant that people had jobs to go back to as things were opening again," Tiessen said. "Government intervention in times of crisis prevents further economic collapse and also speeds economic recovery."
The share of core-age women ( with a job was the highest since 1976, which could have been helped by more mothers working with schools and daycares open, or finding an affordable childcare space, said Jennifer Robson, associate professor of political management at Carleton University.
Also helping women was growth in jobs needing post-secondary education, which women are more likely to have than men.
Economist Armine Yalnizyan with the Atkinson Foundation said on Twitter that the country hasn't hit a full "she-covery," noting more women than men dropped out of the labour market during the pandemic and aren't necessarily captured in the Statistics Canada data.
With unemployment declining and job vacancies ticking upwards, the statistics office said signs point to new or worsening labour shortages or skill mismatches.
Leah Nord, senior director of workforce strategies for the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said shortages won't abate without a meaningful way to connect unemployed workers with available jobs, or enough workers to fill available jobs.
Tightness could further increase wages that on average have increased by 5.2 per cent compared with November 2019, which is close to the inflation rate over that time. Statistics Canada said wages rose faster for new hires than those with jobs during the two-year stretch.
Tanya Gullison, chief revenue officer of consulting firm LHH, said the wage increases will trickle into next year as companies look to hire and retain staff.
Not to be forgotten in the outlook is cloudiness caused by COVID-19.
The emergence of new variants or jumps in case counts could upend any upswing in employment, particularly in high-contact service sectors, said Brendon Bernard, senior economist with job-posting site Indeed.
"Optimism on the public-health front is good for investment, it's good for confidence, and it's a key ingredient that we need to continue to progress," he said.
"Otherwise, these different areas of the economy are sort of left wondering what's next."
Friday's jobs report landed days before the Bank of Canada's next scheduled announcement about its trendsetting policy rate. The central bank is looking for a labour market recovery any rate hike.
Employment last month was about 186,000 above February 2020 levels, and in the estimated range of 110,000 to 270,000 jobs the country would have without the pandemic's effects, once accounting for population growth.
TD senior economist Sri Thanabalasingam said the jobs report, high inflation and a hot housing market may mean the central bank raises rates as early as January.
A quick look at Canada's November employment (numbers from the previous month in brackets):
Here are the jobless rates last month by province (numbers from the previous month in brackets):
Statistics Canada also released seasonally adjusted, three-month moving average unemployment rates for major cities. It cautions, however, that the figures may fluctuate widely because they are based on small statistical samples. Here are the jobless rates last month by city (numbers from the previous month in brackets):
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 3, 2021.
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
A bus carrying worshippers headed to an Easter festival plunged off a bridge on a mountain pass and burst into flames in South Africa on Thursday, killing at least 45 people, authorities said.
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Premier Wab Kinew and federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre met at the Manitoba legislature Thursday afternoon.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore warned Thursday of a 'very long road ahead' to recover from the loss of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge as the Biden administration approved US$60 million in immediate federal aid after the deadly collapse.
B.C. conservation officers recently seized a nine-foot-long Burmese python from a home in Chilliwack.
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
The Ontario government is introducing changes to auto-insurance, but some experts say the move is ill-advised.
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
Newfoundland’s unique version of the Pine Marten has grown out of its threatened designation.
A Toronto man is out $12,000 after falling victim to a deepfake cryptocurrency scam that appeared to involve Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
It started small with a little pop tab collection to simply raise some money for charity and help someone — but it didn’t take long for word to get out that 10-year-old Jace Weber from Mildmay, Ont. was quickly building up a large supply of aluminum pop tabs.
There’s a group of people in Saskatoon that proudly call themselves dumpster divers, and they’re turning the city’s trash into treasure.
Ontario is facing a larger than anticipated deficit but the Doug Ford government still plans to balance its books before the next provincial election.