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BC and Canadian New Employment Growth Rises to Record Highs in April, Surprising Economists - Canadian Economy on a Roll
Friday, May 10, 2019
Vancouver, BC, May 10, 2019--(T-Net)--Statistics Canada reported today that employment in Canada rose by 107,000 in April, one of the the biggest one-month increases on record dating back to 1976.
Economists had only been forecasting an increase of roughly 12,000 positions on average, so the Canadian economy surprised well to the upside this last month.
The unemployment rate also declined to 5.7% (near a 40 year low) as more people participated in the labour market.
On a year-over-year basis, employment grew by 426,000 (+2.3%), with gains in both full-time (+248,000) and part-time (+179,000) work. Over the same period, total hours worked were up 1.3%.
The report shows just how much the labour market has growing recently in Canada's expansion and this together with other economic indicators, appear to be showing the Canadian economy strongly back on a path to growth, and moving past the recent slowdown last fall.
Locally, British Columbia added another 5,900 new jobs in April in support of these overall outstanding national growth numbers.
BC currently has the lowest unemployment rate in the country (falling 0.1 percentage points to 4.6% in April 2019), and has a continued very tight labour force, especially in the tech industry.
To explore the most recent results from the Labour Force Survey in an interactive format, visit the "Labour Force Survey in brief: Interactive app."
Highlights
Employment increased in Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, and Prince Edward Island. It declined in New Brunswick, and was little changed in the other provinces.
Employment rose for youth aged 15 to 24, people aged 55 and older, and women in the core working ages of 25 to 54.
Employment gains were spread across several industries: wholesale and retail trade; construction; information, culture and recreation; "other services"; public administration; and agriculture. At the same time, employment decreased in professional, scientific and technical services.
The number of employees in both the private and public sectors increased, while there was no change in self-employment.
Private sector employees leading growth
The increased employment in April was driven by more employees in the private sector (+84,000), while there were also gains in public sector employment (+23,000). There was no change in the number of self-employed. Compared with 12 months earlier, the number of private-sector employees increased by 355,000 or 3.0%, the fastest pace of year-over-year growth for this group since December 2010. Over the same period, there were 47,000 (+1.2%) more public sector employees, while the number of self-employed was little changed.
Canada-US comparison
Adjusted to US concepts, the unemployment rate in Canada was 4.7% in April, compared with 3.6% in the United States. On a year-over-year basis, the unemployment rate declined by 0.2 percentage points in Canada and by 0.3 percentage points in the United States.
The labour force participation rate in Canada (adjusted to US concepts) was 65.8% in April, compared with 62.8% in the United States. Compared with 12 months earlier, the participation rate increased by 0.5 percentage points in Canada, while it was unchanged in the United States.
The US-adjusted employment rate in Canada was 62.7% in April, compared with 60.6% in the United States. On a year-over-year basis, the employment rate rose by 0.6 percentage points in Canada and was little changed in the United States.
For more information on Canada-US comparisons, see "Measuring Employment and Unemployment in Canada and the United States - A comparison."
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