Employment up nationally and in Ontario
Employment in Canada increased by 35,000 (+0.2%) in January, according to Statistics Canada. The report states this was all in full-time work. The new jobs caused the unemployment rate to drop 0.1% nationally, to 5.5%.
Statscan says, “The additional employment in January contributed to gains totalling 268,000 (+1.4%) since January 2019. All of this increase was the result of growth in full-time employment. Over the same period, total hours worked increased 0.5%.”
Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, Vic Fedeli, seized on the report to celebrate an employment increase in the province of 15,900 in January; he added that since June, 2018, employment in Ontario has risen by 307,800.
StatsCan reported that employment gains were observed in Quebec, Manitoba, and New Brunswick, while fewer people were employed in Alberta, “while there was little change in the other provinces”.
The report suggests that gains were achieved in three significant sectors, manufacturing, construction and agriculture. “At the same time, employment declined in health care and social assistance.”
The report notes the impact of “severe weather conditions” on employment in several regions of Canada, “including British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Alberta. During the survey's reference week for January 2020 (January 12 to 18), 390,000 employees in Canada lost work hours due to the weather, with the majority (61.1%) in British Columbia. While employment in Newfoundland and Labrador was little changed, a large number of employees (50,000 or 25.5% of all employees in the province) lost work hours because of a severe winter storm. In Alberta, 31,000 employees lost work hours due to severe weather conditions.”
The construction industry created 16,000 new jobs in January, second only to the manufacturing sector (21,000). StatsCan reports, “In the 12 months to January, construction and agriculture led the employment growth in the goods sector.”