Looking for a job this fall? What to know heading into a ‘complex’ market

Finding a job has gotten tougher for many candidates in Canada since the start of the year as the economy starts to cool. Here's what job seekers should know.

Canadian job seekers are heading into a much different economic landscape this fall as the previously red-hot labour market cools and candidates face increased competition amid record immigration levels.

Friday’s jobs report shows overall employment was still rising heading into the fall, but Statistics Canada said gains were concentrated in the volatile education sector and part-time work.

The unemployment rate held steady at 5.5 per cent for the third consecutive month, the agency said.

That’s up from the near-record lows of 5.0 per cent seen at the start of 2023 amid an easing in the wider economy this year, says Pedro Antunes, chief economist at the Conference Board of Canada.

Canada’s jobs market is nowhere near as tight as it was coming into the year, Antunes tells Global News, when employer vacancies stood near the one-million mark.

The unemployment rate has risen this year while employers continue to add jobs, thanks in large part to a growing population and record immigration levels helping to boost the supply of labour in the country, Antunes says.

“Overall, I think the labour market is still very healthy,” he says.

But that doesn’t mean it’s easy for workers like Toronto’s Purna Iyer, who has been looking for a full-time job since May.