Canada to cut down on low-wage, foreign workforce: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

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ET OnlineLast Updated: Aug 26, 2024, 10:14:00 PM IST

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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a reduction in low-wage, foreign workers, urging businesses to invest in Canadian workers and youth. This decision comes as Canada's unemployment rate reached a 30-month high of 6.4 per cent in July. Statistics Canada reported challenges in job finding, with rising youth unemployment. Despite this, the average hourly wage growth for permanent employees increased to 5.6% per cent, the fastest since December.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday said that the country would reduce the number of low-wage, foreign workers. He added that it was now time for Canadian businesses to invest in their own workers and youth

In a tweet on social media platform X, he said "We’re reducing the number of low-wage, temporary foreign workers in Canada. The labour market has changed. Now is the time for our businesses to invest in Canadian workers and youth."

— JustinTrudeau (@JustinTrudeau)

The announcement comes after unemployment rate in Canada was at a 30-month high of 6.4 per cent in July.

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The jobless rate, on an uptrend over the past year, had risen 1.3 percentage points since April 2023 and is now highest since January 2022, Statistics Canada data showed. Excluding the coronavirus pandemic years, unemployment was last as high as 6.4 per cent in October 2017.

The statistics agency noted finding jobs was getting harder, citing signs including rising unemployment among youth and, more recently, core-aged men. The unemployment rate for youth rose 0.9 percentage points to 13.5 per cent in the month of June, which, outside of the pandemic, was the highest since September 2014.

The average hourly wage growth of permanent employees, however, accelerated to an annual rate of 5.6 per cent from 5.2 per cent in May. The pay growth rate - closely tracked by the Bank of Canada (BoC) because of its effect on inflation - was the fastest since 5.7 per cent in December.