Labour market:
The recovery
in review
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An eye-opening report from Indeed Hiring Lab asks:
How is the Canadian labour market faring in comparison to that of the U.S. – and what lies in store for 2022?
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AFTER THE tumultuous global events of the past couple of years, the Canadian and U.S. labour markets — indeed, the economies of both nations in general — are in dire need of some good news.
Thankfully, a new report from the international team of economists at Indeed Hiring Lab — State of the Labour Market — offers a silver lining to frame this period of unparalleled uncertainty.
Labour markets in both territories are experiencing a much-needed recovery. Job ads posted on Indeed, for instance, have shot up 60 per cent from pre-pandemic levels.
Yet there are several notable differences between the Canadian and U.S. recoveries that can perhaps shed some light on what the Canadian market can expect in 2022 and beyond.
The Indeed Hiring Lab is an international team of economists and researchers dedicated to delivering insights that help drive the global labour market conversation.
The Hiring Lab produces research on global labour market topics using Indeed’s proprietary data and publicly available sources. Its work is available to the media, researchers, policymakers, jobseekers and employers to help them better navigate the world of work.
The Hiring Lab's analysis focuses on aggregated and anonymized data on job postings on Indeed sites around the world, as well as jobseeker search behaviour on these sites. Indeed has websites in over 60 markets and 28 languages.
Find out more
THE STATE OF WAGE GROWTH
From Q3 2016 to Q3 2021 wages grew by:
Wage growth crept up slowly in the second half of 2021, but it is still lagging behind the levels of growth seen in the U.S.
A Canadian comeback (of sorts)
On a surface level, it would appear that things are looking particularly rosy in Canada as opposed to in
the U.S.
The number of jobs, for instance, was closer to pre-pandemic levels in Canada than in the US towards the end of 2021. However, when taking a deeper dive into the varying demographics and employment sectors, the picture looks a little more fractured.
The recovery boon seems to be limited to mid- and high-paying industries, with Canadian payrolls in the national upper-third bracket up 3.3 per cent from their pre-pandemic level as of October.
Lower-paid Canadian industries, unfortunately, have not seen a similar leap back. The Canadian leisure and hospitality sector — including accommodation and food services, as well as arts, entertainment and recreation — is still a substantial 14 per cent below February 2020 levels.
There’s good news in terms of gender equity, as both mothers and fathers of young children under 13 have seen their employment rebound by 1.8 per cent, while men and women without children under 13 have seen an equal boost of
0.4 per cent.
Perhaps unexpectedly, the post-COVID recovery is also benefiting Canadians with lower educational attainments.
By last November, 21 per cent of those aged 25–54 with a high
school diploma or less were working in occupations typically in the upper third of the pay scale, up from 18.7 per cent pre-pandemic.
Now for some more bad news: wage growth crept up slowly in Canada during the third quarter of 2021, peaking at 2.6 per cent year-over-year, but is still lagging behind the levels of growth seen in the U.S.
And that's not the only difference...
Meanwhile, in the U.S.
U.S. wage growth accelerated at a higher 4.6 per cent year-over-year growth in the third quarter, with wages in the leisure and hospitality sectors also notably eclipsing those north of the border.
Better opportunities in U.S. lower-wage sectors can be evidenced — at least in part — by the “Great Resignation.” While this is seen as a global phenomenon, its visibility in the U.S. comes from a particular focus on “job-hopping” at the lower-paid end of the spectrum.
There has also been a surge of 2.8 per cent in self-employment in the U.S., in contrast to Canada’s dip of 8.6 per cent. Whether this can be viewed in favourable terms or otherwise is up for debate. Self-employed workers in Canada could simply be jumping ship to full-time work as the result of a stable job market.
Other less-than-stellar U.S. performance stats compare poorly with Canada's figures. Mothers and fathers of young children have fared less well in the U.S., with mothers suffering a 2.2 per cent employment rate slump and fathers of young children hit by a 0.8 per cent drop.
As for those mid- and high-paying industries that seem increasingly buoyant in Canada, those same industries in the U.S. have seen employment rates drop by 1.7 per cent. Employment in education, health and social assistance has also dipped in the U.S., falling by over three per cent, while Canada is seeing a recovery.
On the flip side, however, wage growth in the U.S. leisure and hospitality sector — an area floundering in Canada — has perked up significantly.
Property damages and bodily injury
Rifts and reasons
So, what’s causing all these differences? Societal trends and economic twists can be a complex, multilayered business. Throw in the governmental and cultural approaches of two separate nations and things become even more muddled.
Firstly, there are numerous differences between how both countries fund public sector employment hubs, such as government, healthcare and education — and Canada’s approach may well have boosted its success across certain stats. The Canada Recovery Benefit initiative will have had some impact too, reflected in a spike in “urgent job seeking” by unemployed Canadians — as outlined in the Indeed Job Search survey — once the scheme came to an end.
But stricter COVID regulations in Canada may have done greater damage to its hospitality and leisure sector. While still down eight per cent in the U.S., this sector no doubt had a boost from the country's more relaxed public health restrictions.
As for the U.S. proclivity for job-hopping, this is possibly another cultural effect: stats from Indeed indicate that U.S. employers often more aggressively promote their perks and bonuses in job postings. In uncertain times, the “buyers' market” for U.S. employees might translate to a more cautious climate for their Canadian cousins.
There has been a surge in self-employment in the US of 2.8%, in contrast to Canada’s dip of 8.6% – whether this can be viewed
in favourable terms is debatable
Predicting the bigger picture
How, then, do Indeed's findings help when predicting Canadian labour market performance for the rest of 2022?
In those industries and/or demographics that are flourishing in Canada, there seems to be little concern over a lapse back into negative figures — assuming, of course, that something like a deadlier new COVID variant doesn’t throw a spanner into the national infrastructure once again. To what extent growth will continue — and at what pace — is another question.
Then there’s that troublesome Canadian hospitality sector. Leisure is perhaps one of the industries most impacted by the pandemic, and while the worst is hopefully over, Canada’s tradition of tighter health regulations will stifle growth for some time yet.
SELF-EMPLOYMENT: THE STATS REVEALED
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2.6 %
CANADA
4.6 %
USA
From November 2019 to November 2021, self-employment has:
2.8%
USA
8.6%
CANADA
Copyright © 2022 Key Media
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AFTER THE tumultuous global events of the past couple of years, the Canadian and U.S. labour markets — indeed, the economies of both nations in general — are in dire need of some good news.
Thankfully, a new report from the international team of economists at Indeed Hiring Lab — State of the Labour Market — offers a silver lining to frame this period of unparalleled uncertainty.
Labour markets in both territories are experiencing a much-needed recovery. Job ads posted on Indeed, for instance, have shot up 60 per cent from pre-pandemic levels.
Yet there are several notable differences between the Canadian and U.S. recoveries that can perhaps shed some light on what the Canadian market can expect in 2022 and beyond.
There has been a surge in self-employment in the US of 2.8%, in contrast to Canada’s dip of 8.6% – whether this can be viewed in favourable terms is debatable
Find out more
The Indeed Hiring Lab is an international team of economists and researchers dedicated to delivering insights that help drive the global labour market conversation.
The Hiring Lab produces research on global labour market topics using Indeed’s proprietary data and publicly available sources. Its work is available to the media, researchers, policymakers, jobseekers and employers to help them better navigate the world of work.
The Hiring Lab's analysis focuses on aggregated and anonymized data on job postings on Indeed sites around the world, as well as jobseeker search behaviour on these sites. Indeed has websites in over 60 markets and 28 languages.
Copyright © 2022 Key Media
RSS
Advisory board
Authors
Enquiry
About us
Terms of Use
External contributors
Privacy
Contact us
Advertise
Newsletter
Property damages and bodily injury
SELF-EMPLOYMENT: THE STATS REVEALED
Copyright © 2022 Key Media
RSS
Advisory board
Authors
Enquiry
About us
Terms of Use
External contributors
Privacy
Contact us
Advertise
Newsletter
News
Focus Areas
EMPLOYMENT LAW
LABOUR
Resources
Best in HR
Subscribe
News
Focus Areas
EMPLOYMENT LAW
LABOUR
Resources
Best in HR
Subscribe
