Job Report in Canada, January 2016 – Employment was virtually unchanged in January (-5,700 or 0.0%) and the unemployment rate edged up to 7.2%

In the 12 months to January, employment increased by 0.7% (+126,000). Over the same period, the unemployment rate rose from 6.6% to 7.2%, as the labour force grew at a faster pace than employment.

There was little change in both full-time and part-time employment in January. However, compared with 12 months earlier, full-time work increased by 172,000 (+1.2%) while part time was little changed. Over the same period, the number of hours worked rose by 1.2%.

In January, there were fewer employed people aged 55 and older. At the same time, employment increased among women aged 25 to 54.

There were fewer people working in Alberta, Manitoba as well as Newfoundland and Labrador in January.

On the other hand, Ontario was the lone province with an employment increase.

Chart 2  Unemployment rate

Employment down in Alberta, up in Ontario

Employment in Alberta decreased by 10,000 in January.

This brought year-over-year declines to 35,000 (-1.5%), as losses in full-time work (-73,000) were partly offset by gains in part time (+38,000). The employment decrease in January raised the unemployment rate in the province to 7.4%, the highest since February 1996. The unemployment rate in Alberta was higher than the national rate for the first time since December 1988.

Employment in Newfoundland and Labrador fell by 2,400 in January, continuing a recent downward trend that began in the autumn of 2015. In the 12 months to January, employment losses in the province totalled 7,400 (-3.1%). The unemployment rate was unchanged at 14.4% in January as fewer people participated in the labour market.

For a second month in a row, Ontario was the lone province with employment growth, up 20,000 in January. However, the unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.7% as more people participated in the labour market. In the 12 months to January, employment in the province increased by 100,000 (+1.5%).

In Quebec, employment was little changed for the sixth consecutive month in January, and was up slightly on a year-over-year basis (+31,000). The number of people looking for work edged down in January, lowering the unemployment rate by 0.3 percentage points to 7.6%.

Source: The Daily — Labour Force Survey, January 2016