Teleworkers saved more than one hour per day by not commuting in 2022
Teleworkers saved over an hour, on average, by not having to commute on the days that they worked from home. In contrast, non-teleworkers commuted 63 minutes and on-site teleworkers commuted 74 minutes. For parents, teleworking at home was associated with more time spent caring for children. Both fathers and mothers who worked from home on the diary day spent about 1.2 hours (71 minutes) more per day actively caring for, supervising, or being with their children, compared with parents who did not telework.
Source: Time use and teleworkers: Highlights from the 2022 Time Use Survey
Labour productivity declines in the first quarter of 2024
Labour productivity of Canadian businesses declined 0.3% in the first quarter. Productivity fell in half of the 16 industry sectors. Manufacturing and, to a lesser extent, professional services as well as administrative services were the main contributors to the overall decline in productivity in the first quarter.
Source: Labour productivity, hourly compensation and unit labour cost, first quarter 2024
Experiences of self-employed workers in Canada, 2023
In 2023, an average of 2,652,600 people were self-employed, making up 13.2% of the employed population. In the fourth quarter of 2023, the most commonly reported reason for being self-employed was "to have autonomy and control over work hours, wage rate or location" (38.2%). Other common reasons for self-employment included "to engage in work you are passionate about" (14.3%), "to earn more money than as an employee" (11.3%) and "to work in your field of expertise" (9.3%).
Source: Study: Experiences of self-employed workers in Canada, 2023
Canada's merchandise trade deficit with the world narrowed in April 2024
Canada's merchandise trade deficit with the world narrowed from $2.0 billion in March to $1.0 billion in April. Exports of natural gas rose 60.1% in April, returning to more typical levels following a low in March, related in part to milder-than-usual temperatures in the northeastern United States. Exports of crude oil (+3.0%) also increased in April, which coincided with a recovery in refining capacity in the Midwest United States during the month.
Source: Canadian international merchandise trade, April 2024
Employment holds steady in May 2024
The total number of employed people was little changed in May (+27,000; +0.1%), following an increase of 90,000 (+0.4%) in April. On a year-over-year basis, employment was up by 402,000 (+2.0%) in May. The unemployment rate was 6.2% in May, up 0.1 percentage points in the month and 0.9 percentage points year over year. Employment was up for young women aged 15 to 24 years (+48,000; +3.7%) and for women aged 55 years and older (+21,000; +1.1%) in May. At the same time, employment declined among core-aged women (-40,000; -0.6%) and young men (-23,000; -1.6%).
Source: Labour Force Survey, May 2024
Start your engines: A primer on fuel ethanol
Alcohol and vehicles should never mix, except when it comes to ethanol in your gas tank. In 2023, 3.9 million cubic metres of ethanol were added to gasoline in Canada. That’s enough ethanol to fill about 195 million standard 20-litre jerrycans.
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