(file photo/JPBG)

By Tyler Marr

NOW HIRING

Unemployment dips nationally, regionally as fewer people look for work: StatsCan

Jun 7, 2019 | 10:00 AM

After a surprise surge in April employment, with the nation posting the strongest job growth since 1976, things held steady in May.

But a sharp decline in those looking for work pushed the unemployment rate down 0.3 percentage points to 5.4 per cent.

The monthly labour force survey from Statistics Canada showed gains in full-time employment, up by 27,700, while part-time work held steady.

Year-over-year, employment is up by 453,000 positions, the largest 12-month increase since 2003.

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Gains came in health care and social assistance, over half of which was in Ontario. Employment rose in professional, scientific and technical services, offsetting a decline one month prior. Though many of these positions were centred in Ontario, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick also recorded small increases.

Self-employment soared by around 62,000 positions in May, following little change in the prior three months. Core aged work for employees aged 25 to 54 was up by 48,000 in May.

Senior Economist Royce Mendes with CIBC wrote in a note to clients Friday that the Canadian labour market is in the midst of an impressive run of job creation, but the details were by no means immaculate.

“But the release does continue the string of better-than-expected headline readings on the Canadian economy, leaving it still likely that the economy outpaces the Bank of Canada’s last published forecast for the second quarter,” he wrote.

The decline in participation, he said, isn’t the only fly in the ointment, pointing to all the job creation coming in the full-time sector and paid employment falling.

“Moreover, despite the solid increase in headline job creation, hours worked actually declined 0.3% in May, and have seriously lagged job creation over the past year,” he said.

Hours worked are up less than 1 per cent year-over-year, much more muted than the 2.4 per cent hike in jobs.

“This suggests less pull on real GDP growth, and perhaps weaker job quality,” BMO Senior Economist Robert Kavcic wrote in a note to clients.

In Saskatchewan, the unemployment rate fell two ticks to 5.2 per cent from its climb to 5.4 in April after recording a jobless rate of 4.9 per cent in March.

This came as 2,600 people left the labour force, which represents those working or actively looking for work. The number of full-time positions in the province fell by 2,700, wiping out a chunk of the 5,700 gains last month. May saw the province add 1,800 part-time jobs.

Regional data brought mixed news as the jobless rate is down an entire percentage point year-over-year, but it’s thanks to a mirror of the national trend of plummeting participation. Prince Albert and Northern Saskatchewan, which includes numbers for our region, posted an unemployment rate of 6.6, down from 7.6 per cent this time last year.

However, the participation rate sunk from 67.3 per cent to 66.3 and 1,300 fewer people were employed in May 2019 compared to May 2018.

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tyler.marr@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr