By Tyler Marr

More people looking for work in region year-over-year as country’s unemployment rate lowers

Oct 5, 2018 | 12:00 PM

Employment across Canada made greater than expected gains in September, adding 63,000 positions, and edging the unemployment rate down marginally to 5.9 per cent.

The uptick also offset job losses in August, Statistics Canada said Friday in its monthly data dump of labour numbers. The gains come heavily on the back of part-time employment, up 80,000 positions. The number of full-time positions declined by 16,900. 

August saw a net decline of more than 51,000 positions, pushing the unemployment rate to six per cent. Year-over-year, employment is up by 220,000 jobs or 1.2 per cent. 

Ontario and British Columbia were home to the greatest increases in employment, while it remained little changed in other provinces, the agency said. 

On an industry basis, more people are working in construction — up 28,000 positions in September, offsetting declines in the previous two months — agriculture, finance, insurance, and real estate. Employment fell in information, culture and recreation, business, building and other support services.

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In a note to clients Friday morning, CIBC senior economist Royce Mendes said the “wild ride that is the Labour Force Survey (LFS) continued in September.”

“Following two very volatile months even for the LFS, the data was somehow able to surprise everyone once again,” he wrote, noting the massive gain in employment likely are reflecting a catchup in the survey, which he wrote, had been “lagging other more reliable indicators of job creation.”

He made note that hourly earnings growth has slowed to 2.2 per cent from 2.6, year-over-year, in August. But he wrote the current reading “looks more in line with other measures of wages” and suggests “inflationary pressures aren’t set to take off.”

In Prince Albert and Northern Saskatchewan, which includes cities and towns in the region like Meadow Lake, North Battleford, and Battleford, the unemployment rate was 8.2 per cent for September, up marginally year-over-year from 7.8 per cent.

The number of people participating in the labour force, which includes those both working and looking for work is now 106,600, up from 104,500 in September 2017. This would contribute to the uptick in the jobless rate, as the number of people working is up from 96,300 this time last year to 97,900.

Across the province, unemployment fell by 0.3 points to 6.4 per cent, fuelled by growth in part-time work, up by 2,900 positions, while the number of full-time jobs fell by 1,000. Year-over-year, the province has created 3,300 new jobs, largely driven by growth in the private sector, according to a news release from the government. Saskatoon’s jobless rate, however, grew to 7.4 per cent from 7.2, as did Regina’s, hitting 6.4, up from 6.3.

— With files from the Canadian Press

tyler.marr@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr