Job growth numbers 'good news' in Canada but there are concerns, according to an economist

An economist says the latest job growth numbers in Canada are "good news," but he has concerns following Statistics Canada's report.

Last month, Canada's unemployment rate fell for the first time since January by 0.1 percentage points to 6.5 per cent, according to Statistics Canada in its Labour Force Survey for September released Friday. The figure had risen 0.2 percentage points in August.

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In addition, StatCan said the economy added 47,000 jobs in September, up slightly by 0.2 per cent, after four straight months of little change. Employment rose among youth aged 15 to 24 and women aged 25 to 54. Job increases were seen in Ontario, Manitoba, Quebec and Nova Scotia, while declines were experienced in British Columbia and New Brunswick.

While Pedro Antunes, chief economist at the Conference Board of Canada, called the job growth numbers "good news," he said the decrease in the employment rate is a concern. The employment rate, the percentage of the population aged 15 and older who are employed, fell 0.1 percentage point to 60.7 per cent, according to StatCan. This is down from a peak of 62.4 per cent in January and February 2023.

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Although job growth has been "pretty good," Antunes said, the number of people entering the workforce has grown even more.

"This is because we have opened up a lot of immigration, a lot of temporary foreign workers. So, we've seen essentially the employment rate decline and the job market slackening," Antunes said in an interview with CTV News Channel on Friday.

The unemployment rate's decline last month still suggests a "fairly slack labour market," he added.

"Now the government is intending to put the breaks on temporary foreign workers and essentially non-permanent resident immigration," he said. "I think that is going to continue to tighten up the labour market as we go forward even in a soft job-generating environment."

Recently announced changes to the temporary foreign worker program went into effect last month.

To see the full interview, watch the video above.