Canada sees 3.7% more commuters with employment growth

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - Canada saw a higher number of commuters in May due to an increase in employment growth, according to data from the nation's statistical institute.

The number of commuters reached 16.5 million in May, up 585,000, or 3.7%, compared to May 2023, Statistics Canada said Monday in a report.

This was driven by employment growth, which rose 373,000, or 1.9%, during that period, and by an increase in the share of the employed population working at locations other than home, it said.

Commuters are defined as employed people who work most of their hours outside the home, either with a usual fixed place of work or with no fixed work location.

Employed people who work most of their hours at home are not included in the counts of commuters, according to Statistics Canada.

"The onset of the pandemic led to a sharp contraction in the number of commuters due to a drop in employment and more people mostly working from home," said the report.

From May 2023 to May 2024, the share of employed people mostly working from home decreased the most in the province of Quebec, which declined 3.8 percentage points to 18.4%.

It was followed by Saskatchewan with a decrease of 1.8 percentage points to 10.1%, and Ontario which fell 1.4 percentage points to 21.7%, according to the report.