Full-time work faded in 2016 as labour market rode wave of part-time jobs
OTTAWA — Canada’s job market had a promising end to a year marked by big employment gains — but, unlike recent history, growth in 2016 was driven by a less-encouraging factor: an upsurge in part-time work.
Statistics Canada’s year-end employment review Friday said the country added 153,700 net new part-time jobs last year and just 60,400 full-time positions — a number so low it was statistically insignificant.
The 2016 figure represented a stark shift from annual results in the past two years. The agency reported gains of 156,000 full-time jobs in 2014 and 147,000 in 2015.
Experts, however, were heartened by the job market’s solid finish to the year.