04:34 PM EDT, 07/12/2024 (MT Newswires) -- According to National Bank, June's employment data was clear. Businesses' appetite for workers is not keeping pace with population growth, which continues to push up the unemployment rate.

National noted the weak labour market is "particularly hard" on those trying to enter it, including immigrants. For new immigrants, the increase in the unemployment rate since the trough in 2022 (+5.8 percentage points) is already equivalent to the increase recorded during the global financial crisis of 2008-2009.

And National said the situation for this population is "not likely to improve". It cited a chart that shows the job vacancy rate in sectors that tend to absorb more newcomers has fallen from 6.6% in 2022 to just 3.2% last April, the lowest level since 2017. For other sectors, vacancies remain above pre-pandemic levels. According to Statistics Canada's population clock, demographic growth remained outsized in Q2. "Such strength, if it were to continue, makes us concerned about the economic conditions that await newcomers in the coming months," National Bank added.