More and more Canadians are finding jobs, though more of these jobs are going to men, according to figures out this week.
More than 193,000 males took new jobs in Canada last year, almost double the number of females, pushing the unemployment rate for men below 6% for the first time since records began in 1976. The figures mark a divergence from the U.S., where women eclipsed men as the majority of jobholders.
Canada notched another solid year of job gains in 2019, with the unemployment rate hovering near a four-decade low of 5.6%. The female unemployment rate dipped even lower than men, reaching a record 4.9% in May.
Ontario, spurred by Toronto, added 133,200 jobs for men in 2019 — sending the unemployment rate to 5.3% for males versus 5.4% for females. In recent years, the province has reinvented itself from a manufacturing hub to a services juggernaut, reclaiming its spot from Alberta as the main source of male employment. That trend accelerated last year when nearly 70% of all new male employment was concentrated in Ontario.
