February 10, 2017 – Canada’s jobs data continued on an upwards curve during January, despite experts predicting a slow down following a stellar December.

Employment rose by 48,300 jobs, a decent gain in isolation, but increasingly significant when added to consistent monthly gains since August 2016. The unemployment rate fell to 6.8 per cent.

The Canadian economy has now added 276,000 jobs, a rise of 1.6 per cent, in the last 12 months.

Full-time employment, a key indicator of progress, remained steady after a healthy increase in December, putting it up 141,000 since August 2016. Meanwhile, part time employment has now increase by 190,000 since January 2016.

Both men and women aged 25 to 54 saw employment gains, with their unemployment rates falling to 6.0 per cent and 5.3 per cent respectively.

Canada’s Jobs Snapshot

Source: Statistics Canada

Provincial Performance

Ontario, British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland & Labrador were the key provincial performers.

Ontario added a healthy 28,800 jobs, putting its unemployment rate at 6.4 per cent. Employment is now up 90,000 for the last 12 months in Canada’s largest province.

Jobs Data in the Provinces

Source: Statistics Canada

B.C. brought the progress it began in 2015 into 2017, with a jobs gain of 11,000 for an unemployment rate of 5.6 per cent, putting it half a percentage point ahead of nearest challenger Manitoba. The 82,000 jobs added over the year represent a 3.5 per cent increase, the fastest growth of any province.

Nova Scotia continued its recent progress by adding 4,200 jobs, with unemployment falling from 8.3 per cent to 7.7 per cent over the month. The province has now added 9,800 jobs in the last year.

The 2,200 jobs gain in Newfoundland, meanwhile, was enough to see a drop from 15.1 per cent unemployment to 13.8 per cent.

Quebec employment held steady in January, but a drop in unemployment saw the rate fall from 6.5 per cent to 6.2 per cent. Over the year, Quebec has added 97,000 jobs for a 2.5 per cent increase.

Jobs Data By Sector

January saw 21,000 jobs added in finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing for a total gain of 59,000, or 5.3 per cent on the year.

Business, building and other support services saw a gain of 16,000 jobs, although the sector was little changed on the year.

Jobs gains were also seen in transportation and warehousing (11,000) and public administration (7,800), while information, culture and recreation saw a decline of 13,000.

Private sector jobs increased by 32,000, contributing to a 12-month gain of 257,000, while public sector and self-employed jobs remained little changed over the course of the month.

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