Canada in 2014 – Full time employment-increased by 158,000, mainly in Western Canada

Full-time and core-age employment advanced in 2014

While employment growth in 2014 was little changed from the previous year, both full-time work and employment among core-age workers strengthened in 2014 on gains in the second half of the year.

Full time employment-increased by 158,000 in the year, up from 46,000 in 2013. Employment among core-age workers grew by 63,000, offsetting an equivalent decline in the previous year. The number of employees, excluding the self-employed, increased in the second half of 2014, after no net growth during the first six months.

About three-quarters of employment growth in 2014 was in services, notably in health care and social services, and in education industries. Among goods industries, employment increased in construction, and was little changed in manufacturing and resource extraction.

Most of the net increase in employment in 2014 occurred in Western Canada, with Alberta accounting for about half of the December-to-December gain. Both Ontario and Alberta added employment in the second half of the year. While employment in the goods sector strengthened late in 2014, these gains occurred outside of manufacturing and resource extraction.

The overall employment rate (employed individuals as a percentage of the working age population) was little changed in 2014, and has fluctuated between 61 to 62 percent since the 2008/2009 recession. The employment rate among core-age individuals (those aged 25-54) was 81.5% at year end, up slightly from 81.3% in December 2013. It had declined during the first half of 2014, to 80.9% in June, before increasing on employment gains later in the year.

Among the provinces, the employment rate of core-aged workers ranged, at year end, from 76.4% in Newfoundland and Labrador to 85% in Saskatchewan. Employment growth among core-age workers has, in recent years, been much stronger in Western Canada.

Employment rose by 63,000 in the first quarter of 2015 with all of the growth in part-time work. Women and individuals aged 55 and over accounted for the quarterly gain. Private sector employment was unchanged, and employment in goods industries fell by 31,000. Gains were concentrated in education and health care industries. Among the provinces, employment in Quebec rose in the first quarter (+38,000), and was little changed in Ontario (+17,000) and Alberta.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at Recent Developments in the Canadian Economy: Spring 2015.