The Consumer Price Index rises in May 2024
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.9% on a year-over-year basis in May, up from a 2.7% gain in April. Acceleration in the headline CPI was largely due to higher prices for services, which rose 4.6% in May following a 4.2% increase in April. Faster price growth for services was led by cellular services, travel tours, rent and air transportation. Prices for goods (+1.0%) grew at the same rate as in April. On a monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.6% in May, largely stemming from an increase in travel tours. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.3% in May.
Source: Consumer Price Index, May 2024
Tourism spending in Canada grows in the first quarter of 2024
Tourism spending in Canada grew 1.8% in the first quarter, following a 2.4% increase in the fourth quarter of 2023. Tourism gross domestic product (GDP) (+1.5%) and jobs attributable to tourism (+0.9%) also rose in the first quarter of 2024. Increased tourism spending by both Canadians and international visitors in Canada contributed to the rise in the first quarter. Passenger air transport (+4.7%) contributed to nearly two-thirds of total tourism spending growth. Overall, tourism spending rose to 93.3% of its level recorded in the fourth quarter of 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Source: National tourism indicators, first quarter 2024
The number of employees receiving pay and benefits from their employer decreases in April 2024
The number of employees receiving pay and benefits from their employer—measured as "payroll employment" in the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours—decreased by 22,700 (-0.1%) in April. This decline followed three consecutive monthly increases from January to March, with a cumulative gain of 92,500 (+0.5%) over this period. Meanwhile, job vacancies fell by 32,000 (-5.3%) to 575,400 in April, marking the third consecutive monthly decline.
Source: Payroll employment, earnings and hours, and job vacancies, April 2024
Real gross domestic product grows in April 2024
Real GDP grew 0.3% in April, after being essentially unchanged in March. Both goods-producing (+0.3%) and services-producing (+0.3%) industries contributed to the growth, with 15 of 20 sectors increasing in April. Wholesale trade, mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction and manufacturing were the largest contributors to growth in April after recording declines in the previous month. Following two consecutive monthly decreases, retail trade was also among the top drivers of growth in April, led by food and beverage retailers and gasoline stations, which rebounded from declines recorded in previous months.
Source: Gross domestic product by industry, April 2024
Tougher job market to crack for high school students this summer
Job prospects for high school students aged 15 to 19 years in the summer of 2024 are not quite as sunny as last year. In May, the most recent month for which data are available, just under half (48.8%) of the 2.2 million Canadian youth aged 15 to 19 years were in the labour market, with 40.4% working and one in seven (17.1%) being unemployed. Job prospects were a little better in May 2023, when over half (51.0%) of youth aged 15 to 19 years were actively participating in the labour market, with 43.8% working and 14.2% being unemployed. In May 2024, female youth aged 15 to 19 years were more likely than their male counterparts to be actively participating in the workforce (49.8% versus 47.8%) and employed (41.3% versus 39.5%) and less likely to be unemployed (17.0% versus 17.3%).
Source: A few clouds with some rays of sunshine in the high school job market this summer
StatsCAN app
Did you know you can read StatsCAN Plus articles and more on the StatsCAN app? If you’re already using the app, let us know what you think by leaving a review in the App Store and Google Play.
Contact information
For more information, contact the Statistical Information Service (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).