Canada – Employment Up by 34,000 with 33,000 in Quebec

After a decline in July, employment rose by 34,000 in August, the result of an increase in part-time work. The unemployment rate held steady at 7.3%.

Employment

On a year-over-year basis, employment increased by 1.0% or 177,000, with most of the gains occurring in the spring of this year. Virtually all of the increase in the 12-month period was in full-time work. Over the same period, the total number of hours worked rose 0.7%.

Employment rose in Quebec, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, while it declined in Ontario and Prince Edward Island. There was little change in the other provinces.

Unemployment Rate

Employment increased by 33,000 in Quebec, with gains in part-time work. This left overall employment in the province slightly above the level of 12 months earlier. At 7.6% in August, the unemployment rate was unchanged from the previous month.

In August, employment rose by 15,000 in British Columbia, pushing the unemployment rate down 0.3 percentage points to 6.7%. Compared with 12 months earlier, employment increased 2.3%, above the national growth rate of 1.0%.

In Saskatchewan, employment increased by 4,600, bringing gains over the past 12 months to 3.6%, the highest growth rate of all provinces. The increase in employment in August pushed the unemployment rate down 0.6 percentage points to 4.4%, tied with Alberta for the lowest rate among all provinces.

Employment increased by 3,400 in Manitoba in August and the unemployment rate fell by 0.3 percentage points to 5.4%. Compared with 12 months earlier, employment was up 0.9%.

The number of employed fell by 25,000 in Ontario, leaving employment similar to its level of August 2011. The unemployment rate in the province was 8.0% in August 2012.

via The Daily — Labour Force Survey, August 2012.