Labour Force | June 2012: Employment 280,700 (68.0%)

[UrbanWaterloo]

March 2010 Labour Force Survey
Released Friday, April 9, 2010 at 7:00 a.m. Eastern time
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/subjects-su...fs-epa-eng.htm

Employment edged up by 18,000 in March, continuing an upward trend that began in July 2009. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 8.2%.

March's employment increase brings total gains to 176,000 (+1.1%) since July 2009.
Part-time employment was up by 32,000 in March, more than offsetting full-time losses. Despite the gain in March, part-time employment has fallen by 0.6% since July 2009, while full-time work has grown by 1.4%.
The number of private sector employees increased by 42,000 in March. However, since July, employment has grown at a faster rate among employees in the public sector than those in the private sector (+2.0% versus +1.4%). Over the same period, the number of self-employed has declined by 1.3%.
Industries with notable increases in March were professional, scientific and technical services; construction; and natural resources. These gains were partially offset by declines in "other services;" business, building and other support services; and transportation and warehousing.
Employment edged up in Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan in March, while there was little change in all other provinces.
Average hourly wages were up by 2.2% in March compared with a year earlier. This increase is similar to those seen in recent months.

Strength in the goods-producing sector in March
Employment in the goods-producing sector was up by 40,000 in March, with most of the gains found in construction and natural resources.
Following a four-month pause in growth, construction added 21,000 workers in March.
Employment in natural resources increased by 13,000 in March and has been trending up since October 2009, with gains totalling 36,000 (+12.0%) since that time. Most of the increases were in mining, oil and gas extraction.
Following significant losses in manufacturing employment between October 2008 and June 2009 (-212,000 or -10.8%), employment in this industry has stabilized, with March being the sixth consecutive month of little or no change.
In the service sector in March, the only notable employment increase was in professional, scientific and technical services (+38,000). At the same time, there were declines of 30,000 in "other services," which includes repair and maintenance, and personal and laundry services. There were also losses in business, building and other support services (-26,000) as well as transportation and warehousing (-20,000).
Employment in transportation and warehousing, an industry that has close ties to manufacturing, has been trending down since the employment peak of October 2008, with total losses of 83,000.
Despite recent strength in the goods-producing sector, employment in that sector remains 286,000 below its peak of October 2008. Conversely, employment in the service sector is 45,000 above its October 2008 level.

Three provinces share employment growth
Employment in Ontario edged up by 10,000 in March, continuing the growth seen since May 2009 (+102,000). The unemployment rate declined 0.3 percentage points to 8.8% in March.
Employment was also up slightly in Quebec (+6,000) in March, bringing total gains in that province to 56,000 since July 2009. The unemployment rate was little changed in March at 8.0%.
Following an increase in February, Saskatchewan's employment level continued to rise in March, up 3,300. With more people participating in the labour force, the unemployment rate increased by 0.8 percentage points to 5.1%. Despite this increase, Saskatchewan's unemployment rate remained the lowest of all provinces, closely followed by Manitoba at 5.2%.
Despite little change in Alberta's employment in March, the unemployment rate rose 0.6 percentage points to 7.5%, as more people entered the labour force. This unemployment rate is the highest since 1996. Alberta is the only province with an employment decline since July 2009.

Employment little changed across demographic groups
There was little change in employment among demographic groups in March. Since July 2009, the largest gains in employment have been among women aged 25 to 54 (+84,000) and men aged 55 and over (+52,000).
During this eight-month period, employment was up only slightly among youth; men aged 25 to 54; and women aged 55 and over.

The next release of the Labour Force Survey will be on May 7.

Table 5-1: Labour force characteristics by census metropolitan area (seasonally adjusted) — 3 month moving average

[UrbanWaterloo]

April 2010 Labour Force Survey
Released Friday, May 7, 2010 at 7:00 a.m. Eastern time
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quoti...00507a-eng.htm

Employment increased by 109,000 in April, the largest monthly gain in percentage terms since August 2002. The unemployment rate edged down 0.1 percentage points in April to 8.1%, as more people participated in the labour market.

The gain in April was of a similar magnitude to some of the monthly losses observed in the most recent employment downturn, which began in the fall of 2008.
The employment increase in April brings total gains since the start of the upward trend in July 2009 to 285,000.
In April, two-thirds of the employment growth was among men aged 25 and over (+72,000), the strongest monthly increase for this group since comparable data became available in 1976.
Employment growth in April was in both part-time (+65,000) and full-time (+44,000) work. Since July 2009, growth has been concentrated in full-time work.
All of April's increase was among employees in the private sector.
Employment rose in a number of industries in April with wholesale and retail trade; business, building and other support services; and construction leading the way.
Employment grew in all provinces in April, with the largest increases in Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba.
Compared with a year earlier, average hourly wages were up 2.0% in April, a rate of growth similar to those observed since January 2010.

Employment growth led by men and youth
Employment growth in April was primarily among men aged 25 and over and youth, while there was little change for women.
Employment grew by 51,000 in April among men aged 25 to 54, the largest percentage increase in 16 years. Despite this gain, employment for this group remained 137,000 (-2.2%) below the employment peak of October 2008.
Employment for youths aged 15 to 24 grew by 23,000 in April. Despite gains in recent months, youth employment remained 168,000 (-6.4%) lower than in October 2008.
Men aged 55 and over also experienced employment increases in April (+21,000). In contrast to youths and men aged 25 to 54, employment for this group has risen by 98,000 (+6.5%) since October 2008.

Service sector leads gains
The largest increases in April were in retail and wholesale trade (+32,000); business, building and other support services (+31,000); construction (+24,000); and information, culture and recreation (+20,000).
The industries with notable losses in April were manufacturing (-21,000) and agriculture (-10,000).
Since July 2009, employment growth has been driven by gains in services, as well as construction and natural resources. Over the same period, employment in manufacturing remained stable.
April's employment increase was entirely among private sector employees (+109,000), while both the public sector and self-employment were unchanged.
Since July 2009, growth has been strongest among private sector employees (+2.4%), followed by those in the public sector (+1.9%). The number of self-employed workers declined by 1.2% during the same period.

Robust employment growth in several provinces
Employment in Ontario increased by 41,000 in April, bringing gains since July 2009 to 109,000 (+1.7%). The unemployment rate was unchanged at 8.8%, as more people participated in the labour market.
In April, employment rose by 35,000 in Quebec, and the unemployment rate edged down to 7.9%. Since July 2009, employment in that province has grown by 91,000 (+2.4%).
In British Columbia, employment gains of 13,000 in April pushed the unemployment rate down 0.6 percentage points to 7.3%. Since July 2009, employment in the province has risen by 55,000 (+2.4%).
Employment in Alberta rose by 10,000 in April, and the unemployment rate edged down to 7.4%. Despite April's gain, Alberta is the only province with no employment growth since July 2009.
Employment also grew in Manitoba in April, up 7,000, pushing the unemployment rate down 0.3 percentage points to 4.9%, the lowest in the country.

The next release of the Labour Force Survey will be on June 4.

Table 5-1: Labour force characteristics by census metropolitan area (seasonally adjusted) — 3 month moving average
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/71-001-...4/t014-eng.htm

Kitchener, Ontario
in thousands (except rates)
Metric | March 2010 | April 2010 | Change From Last Month | Change From Last December | Change From Twelve Months Ago | % Change From Last Month | % Change From Last December | % Change From Twelve Months Ago
Population | 391.4 | 391.8 | 0.4 | 1.6 | 5.3 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 1.4
Labour Force | 275.8 | 279.3 | 3.5 | 6.2 | 0.2 | 1.3 | 2.3 | 0.1
Employment | 249.5 | 254.1 | 4.6 | 6.5 | 3.1 | 1.8 | 2.6 | 1.2
Unemployment | 26.4 | 25.2 | -1.2 | -0.3 | -2.8 | -4.5 | -1.2 | -10.0
Participation Rate | 70.5 | 71.3 | 0.8 | 1.3 | -0.9
Unemployment Rate | 9.6 | 9.0 | -0.6 | -0.3 | -1.0
Employment Rate | 63.7 | 64.9 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 0.0

[panamaniac]

Nice to see some glimmers of hope - it's been a tough patch (for some). Now, if the global economy doesn't suffer a meltdown .......

[UrbanWaterloo]

May 2010
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quoti...00604a-eng.htm

Following large gains in April, employment rose by 25,000 in May, the fifth consecutive monthly increase. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 8.1%. Since the start of the upward trend in July 2009, employment has risen by 1.8% or 310,000.

Full-time employment increased by 67,000 in May, partly offset by losses of 43,000 in part time. Since July 2009, virtually all employment gains have been in full time. The number of private sector employees increased by 43,000 in May, while there were 28,000 fewer self-employed workers. Since July 2009, the number of employees in the private sector has risen by 2.8%, with most of the gains in recent months. Since July 2009, the public sector has increased by 2.2%, while self-employment has fallen by 2.3%. Industries with notable employment increases in May were transportation and warehousing; health care and social assistance; public administration; and agriculture. Declines were observed in information, culture and recreation; accommodation and food services; and natural resources. Employment was little changed in manufacturing and construction in May. In May, employment was up in Ontario, Alberta, Newfoundland and Labrador as well as Nova Scotia. At the same time, employment declined in British Columbia and Prince Edward Island. There was little employment change in the other provinces in May. May's overall employment growth was mainly among women aged 55 and over. Average hourly wages rose by 2.4% in May compared with the same month last year, an increase similar to those observed in recent months.

Gains mostly in service industries
In May, employment gains were found in a number of industries. Employment in transportation and warehousing increased by 26,000 in May, offsetting the declines of the previous two months. Health care and social assistance continued its long-term upward trend in May, with an increase of 18,000. There were also more people working in public administration (+13,000) and agriculture (+9,000) in May. These gains were partly offset by employment declines in information, culture and recreation (-25,000); accommodation and food services (-22,000); and natural resources (-11,000). There was little change in construction and manufacturing in May. Since July 2009, there has been solid employment growth in construction (+83,000 or +7.3%), while employment in manufacturing has been stable.

Notable employment gains in four provinces
Ontario's employment was up 18,000 in May, all in full-time work. The increase in May brings employment gains in that province to 127,000 (+1.9%) since July 2009, a rate of growth similar to the national average (+1.8%). In May, the unemployment rate edged up 0.1 percentage points to 8.9% as more people entered the labour market. Employment in Alberta increased for the second straight month, up 15,000 in May, lowering the unemployment rate by 0.8 percentage points to 6.6%. With these recent gains, employment in the province has increased by 0.5% since July 2009. Strong employment gains in Newfoundland and Labrador (+7,600) in May pushed the unemployment rate down 1.2 percentage points to 13.8%. Recent employment increases bring total growth since July 2009 to 6.7%, the fastest of all provinces. There were more people working in Nova Scotia in May, as employment increased by 3,500, bringing growth since July 2009 to 1.5%. The unemployment rate was 8.7% in May. In May, employment was little changed in Quebec and the unemployment rate was 8.0%. Since July 2009, employment growth in Quebec has been among the fastest of all provinces at 2.3%. Employment decreased in both British Columbia (-10,000) and Prince Edward Island (-1,900) in May. Compared with July 2009, employment is up 2.0% in both provinces.

Employment up for women aged 55 and over
May's employment increase was mainly among women aged 55 and over (+17,000). Since July 2009, employment has grown the fastest among men aged 55 and over (+5.0%), followed by women aged 55 and over (+3.1%). Among core-aged workers (25 to 54), since July 2009, employment has risen by 1.7% for women and 1.0% for men. Over the same period, youth employment has grown by 1.6%.

Good start for student summer employment
From May to August, the Labour Force Survey collects labour market information about young people aged 15 to 24 who were attending school full time in March and who intend to return to school in the fall. The May survey results provide the first indicators of the summer job market, especially for students aged 20 to 24, as students aged 15 to 19 are not yet out of school for the summer. The data for June, July and August will provide further insight into the summer job market. The published estimates are not seasonally adjusted, and therefore comparisons can only be made from one year to another. There were 54,000 more students aged 20 to 24 employed in May, bringing their employment rate up 3.1 percentage points to 59.2% compared with May 2009. In May 2009, students were especially affected by the labour market downturn. Despite the increase compared with 2009, the student employment rate remains below that of May 2008 (63.6%), a year when student employment was particularly strong.

The next release of the Labour Force Survey will be on July 9.

Table 5-1: Labour force characteristics by census metropolitan area (seasonally adjusted) — 3 month moving average
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/71-001-...5/t014-eng.htm

Kitchener, Ontario
in thousands (except rates)
Metric | April 2010 | May 2010 | Change From Last Month | Change From Last December | Change From Twelve Months Ago | % Change From Last Month | % Change From Last December | % Change From Twelve Months Ago
Population | 391.8 | 392.3 | 0.5 | 2.1 | 5.4 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 1.4
Labour force | 279.3 | 283.9 | 4.6 | 10.8 | 6.4 | 1.6 | 4.0 | 2.3
Employment | 254.1 | 260.5 | 6.4 | 12.9 | 10.2 | 2.5 | 5.2 | 4.1
Unemployment | 25.2 | 23.4 | -1.8 | -2.1 | -3.8 | -7.1 | -8.2 | -14.0
Participation rate | 71.3 | 72.4 | 1.1 | 2.4 | 0.7
Unemployment rate | 9.0 | 8.2 | -0.8 | -1.1 | -1.6
Employment rate | 64.9 | 66.4 | 1.5 | 2.9 | 1.7

[UrbanWaterloo]

Great to see we're back above the 260,000 employment figure, the first time since November 2008. A ton of jobs (6,400) were created in May, although this figure is very volatile month-to-month.

[panamaniac]

Good news again - I just wish I could shake that feeling in the pit of my stomach that tells me we should enjoy this while it lasts.

[UrbanWaterloo]

June 2010
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/subjects-su...fs-epa-eng.htm

Employment rose by 93,000 in June, pushing the unemployment rate down 0.2 percentage points to 7.9%. This is the first time the rate has been below the 8% mark since January 2009.

Employment has been on an upward trend since July 2009, increasing by 403,000 (+2.4%). These gains offset nearly all the employment losses observed during the labour market downturn which began in the fall of 2008. The June unemployment rate, however, remained well above the October 2008 rate of 6.2%, due to a large increase in the number of people in the labour force over this period.
Employment increases were evenly split between full and part time in June. Since July 2009, most of the employment gains have been in full-time work, up 355,000 or 2.6%, while part-time work rose by 1.5%.
Notable employment increases in June were in service industries including retail and wholesale trade; business, building and other support services; health care and social assistance; and other services such as automotive repair and personal care services.
In June, there were continued gains in the number of private sector employees. The number of self-employed workers also increased, while there was little change among public sector employees.
Virtually all of June's employment gains were in Ontario (+60,000) and Quebec (+30,000). At the same time, there were declines in Newfoundland and Labrador and New Brunswick. There was little employment change in all other provinces.
The employment increases in June were led by core-aged men 25 to 54, followed by workers 55 years and over and youths 15 to 24.
The average hourly wage for employees was 1.7% higher in June compared with the same month last year.

Robust employment gains in service industries
There were 22,000 additional workers in retail and wholesale trade in June, bringing total gains to 69,000 (+2.6%) since July 2009.
Employment in business, building and other support services increased by 20,000 in June. This industry has shown strength since the start of the year, with gains totalling 86,000 (+14.0%) over the period.
Health care and social assistance continued its long-term upward trend, with an increase of 20,000 in June.
Employment also increased in June in other services such as automotive repair and personal care services, up 17,000.
In the goods-producing sector, employment in construction edged up 11,000. This industry has had the fastest growth rate of all major industry groups since July 2009 (+8.3% or +94,000).
On the other hand, employment in manufacturing dipped by 14,000 in June. While employment in this industry is little changed since July 2009, it remains well below its October 2008 level (-235,000 or -11.9%).
The number of private sector employees increased by 52,000 in June. At the same time, there were 26,000 more self-employed workers. Since July 2009, the number of employees in the private sector has risen by 349,000 (+3.3%), with most of the gains in recent months. The number of public sector workers has risen by 2.6% over the same period, while self-employment has declined by 1.3%.

Gains concentrated in Ontario and Quebec
Ontario's employment was up 60,000 in June, the sixth consecutive monthly gain. This brings employment increases in the province to 187,000 (+2.9%) since July 2009. With these gains, Ontario's employment is slightly below its pre-recession level. In June, the unemployment rate fell 0.6 percentage points to 8.3%, the lowest since January 2009.
In June, employment increased by 30,000 in Quebec and the unemployment rate dipped 0.2 percentage points to 7.8%. Since July 2009, employment growth in Quebec has been the fastest of all provinces at 3.0% (+117,000).
Employment in Newfoundland and Labrador fell by 8,100 in June, offsetting the increase of the month before. The unemployment rate increased by 0.9 percentage points to 14.7%, a rate similar to those observed earlier this year. Despite the employment decline in June, growth since July 2009 has been 2.9%, a faster rate of growth than the national average of 2.4%.
Employment in New Brunswick also fell in June (-4,400). This pushed the unemployment rate in the province up 0.5 percentage points to 9.3%.
Following two months of growth, employment in Alberta was little changed in June. Since July 2009, employment in this province has risen by 0.8% (+15,000), the slowest growth rate of all provinces.

Core-aged men lead employment gains
Among core-aged workers (25 to 54), employment increased by 41,000 in June, all among men. Since July 2009, there has been employment growth for both core-aged men (+1.8%) and women (+1.6%). With these gains, core-age women are back to their pre-recession employment levels. In contrast, employment among core-age men still remains 90,000 below their October 2008 level.
In June, employment increased by 31,000 among those aged 55 and over. Since July 2009, employment growth has been the fastest for this age group (+5.3%).
Employment also rose among youths aged 15 to 24 in June, up 21,000. This pushed their unemployment rate down 0.5 percentage points to 14.6%. Since July 2009, youth employment has grown by 60,000, but still remains 148,000 below the October 2008 peak.

An improved student summer labour market compared with a year ago
From May to August, the Labour Force Survey collects labour market information about young people aged 15 to 24 who were attending school full time in March and intend to return to school in the fall. The May and June survey results provide the first indicators of the summer job market. The data for July and August will provide further insight into the summer job market. The published estimates are not seasonally adjusted; therefore, comparisons can only be made on a year-over-year basis.
Compared with the same month a year earlier, employment increased by 63,000 in June 2010 for students aged 20 to 24. This pushed their unemployment rate down 3.7 percentage points to 10.3%. Despite this improvement, their unemployment rate remains above that of June 2008 (9.2%), a summer when student employment was particularly strong.
The labour market for 17 to 19 year-old students improved marginally in June, as their employment edged up 11,000 from June 2009. Their unemployment rate declined 2.1 percentage points to 16.0% in June, but remained well above the rate of 11.7% observed in June 2008.

Quarterly update on territories
The Labour Force Survey also collects labour market information about the territories. This information is produced monthly in the form of three-month moving averages. Not all estimates are seasonally adjusted, therefore comparisons should only be made on a year-over-year basis.
In Nunavut, while employment increased slightly for the three months ending in June 2010 compared with the same period last year, there were more people looking for work, which pushed the unemployment rate up from 14.5% to 19.7%.
The number of people working in the Northwest Territories in the second quarter was little changed compared with the same quarter in 2009. The unemployment rate increased from 6.6% to 7.4% however, as more people were searching for work.
There was little overall change in the Yukon labour market in the second quarter compared with a year earlier. The unemployment rate in the Yukon was 7.8%, little changed from a year earlier.

The next release of the Labour Force Survey will be on August 6.

Table 5-1: Labour force characteristics by census metropolitan area (seasonally adjusted) — 3 month moving average
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/71-001-...6/t014-eng.htm

Kitchener, Ontario
in thousands (except rates)
Metric | May 2010 | June 2010 | Change From Last Month | Change From Last December | Change From Twelve Months Ago | % Change From Last Month | % Change From Last December | % Change From Twelve Months Ago
Population | 392.3 | 392.8 | 0.5 | 2.6 | 5.5 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 1.4
Labour force | 283.9 | 287.2 | 3.3 | 14.1 | 9.6 | 1.2 | 5.2 | 3.5
Employment | 260.5 | 264.6 | 4.1 | 17.0 | 14.4 | 1.6 | 6.9 | 5.8
Unemployment | 23.4 | 22.6 | -0.8 | -2.9 | -4.8 | -3.4 | -11.4 | -17.5
Participation rate | 72.4 | 73.1 | 0.7 | 3.1 | 1.4
Unemployment rate | 8.2 | 7.9 | -0.3 | -1.4 | -2.0
Employment rate | 66.4 | 67.4 | 1.0 | 3.9 | 2.8

[UrbanWaterloo]

What a great report for both Canada and this area!

Locally we added 4,100 jobs in June bringing our employment level to 264,600: a new record for our metro! Our previous employment record was 263,600 in November 2008, around the start of the recession.

Check out the updated chart on the first post. If you compare the 12-month moving average here to the 12-month moving average found on the building permits chart, you can see there's a strong positive correlation, with the employment average lagging by a few months. With the 12-month average of building permits at a record high, expect to see the employment average move up over the coming months.

[UrbanWaterloo]

July 2010
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quoti...00806a-eng.htm

Following strong gains in recent months, employment was little changed in July, with large full-time declines mostly offset by part-time gains. The unemployment rate edged up 0.1 percentage points to 8.0%.

Since the start of the upward trend in July 2009, employment has risen by 2.3% (+394,000).
Large full-time declines (-139,000) in July were mostly offset by part-time gains (+130,000). July's strong part-time increase brings total gains in part time to 177,000 since July 2009. Over the same period, full-time employment has grown by 216,000.
In July, employment decreased in educational services and in finance, insurance, real estate and leasing. At the same time, there were increases in manufacturing and public administration.
Quebec posted employment losses in July, while Alberta and British Columbia had increases. In all other provinces, employment was little changed.
Average hourly wages were up 2.2% from July 2009, similar to the year-over-year increases of recent months.

Losses in services, gains in goods
The number of workers in the education sector was down by 65,000 in July. The large drop in educational services in July was spread across several occupation groups, including educational assistants, teachers and administrators in primary and secondary schools as well as custodial staff.
In July, employment decreased in finance, insurance, real estate and leasing (-30,000), bringing employment in this industry back to its July 2009 level.
Factory employment rose by 29,000 in July, the largest increase for that sector in two years. With this increase, manufacturing employment returned to its level of a year earlier.
Employment also increased in public administration (+19,000) in July, bringing growth in this industry to 4.0% (+37,000) over the past 12 months.
Since the start of the upward trend in employment in July 2009, the industries with the fastest rates of growth were construction (+8.6%); professional, scientific and technical services (+7.5%); and health care and social assistance (+6.2%). Over the same period, the fastest declines were observed in agriculture (-4.9%) and "other services" (-3.0%) such as repair and maintenance.
There was virtually no change in the number of public or private sector employees in July, nor in self-employment. Over the past 12 months, employment has grown by 3.2% in the private sector and by 2.6% in the public sector, while self-employment has fallen by 1.5%.

Declines in Quebec offset by gains in British Columbia and Alberta
In Quebec, employment decreased by 21,000 in July, the first notable decline in 12 months. The unemployment rate rose 0.4 percentage points to 8.2%. Since July 2009, employment has risen by 2.5% (+96,000) in this province, slightly above the national average of 2.3%.
British Columbia posted gains of 16,000 in July, bringing the province's unemployment rate down 0.3 percentage points to 7.5%. Since July 2009, employment has grown by 3.0% (+67,000), one of the fastest growth rates of all provinces.
Employment increased in Alberta for the fourth consecutive month, up 9,000 in July. The unemployment rate fell 0.4 percentage points to 6.3%, the lowest since April 2009. Despite recent gains, employment growth in Alberta over the past year has been among the slowest in the country at 1.2%.
Following increases in recent months, employment in Ontario edged down by 15,000 in July, bringing the unemployment rate up 0.2 percentage points to 8.5%. Since July 2009, employment in this province has increased by 2.6% (+172,000).

Unemployment rate increases among those aged 55 and over
While employment was little changed among the different demographic groups in July, the unemployment rate rose for both women and men aged 55 and over, as more people in this age group entered the labour force. In July, the unemployment rate for women aged 55 and over increased by 1.3 percentage points to 6.4%, the highest in six years. For men of the same age group, the unemployment rate increased by 0.5 percentage points to 7.1%.
Workers aged 55 and over had the fastest rate of employment growth (+5.7%) over the past 12 months. During the same period, employment grew by 1.6% among workers aged 25 to 54 and 2.0% among youths 15 to 24.

Labour market improves for students aged 20 to 24
From May to August, the Labour Force Survey collects labour market information about young people aged 15 to 24 who were attending school full time in March and intend to return to school in the fall. The published estimates are not seasonally adjusted; therefore, comparisons can only be made on a year-over-year basis.
Employment increased by 4.5% (+56,000) for students aged 15 to 24 in July compared with 12 months earlier. The bulk of the gains were for students aged 20 to 24 years (+47,000).
Compared with July 2009, the unemployment rate for students aged 15 to 24 declined 4.1 percentage points to 16.8% in July. Despite this improvement, their unemployment rate remains above that of July 2008 (13.8%), a summer when student employment was particularly strong.
Younger students had a harder time finding employment in July than their older counterparts. The unemployment rate for students aged 15 to 16 was 28.2%, compared with 18.2% for 17 to 19 year-old students and 7.5% for 20 to 24 year-olds.

The next release of the Labour Force Survey will be on September 10.

Table 5-1: Labour force characteristics by census metropolitan area (seasonally adjusted) — 3 month moving average
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/71-001-...7/t014-eng.htm

Kitchener, Ontario
in thousands (except rates)
Metric | June 2010 | July 2010 | Change From Last Month | Change From Last December | Change From Twelve Months Ago | % Change From Last Month | % Change From Last December | % Change From Twelve Months Ago
Population | 392.8 | 393.3 | 0.5 | 3.1 | 5.5 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 1.4
Labour force | 287.2 | 290.3 | 3.1 | 17.2 | 12.1 | 1.1 | 6.3 | 4.3
Employment | 264.6 | 269.1 | 4.5 | 21.5 | 18.4 | 1.7 | 8.7 | 7.3
Unemployment | 22.6 | 21.2 | -1.4 | -4.3 | -6.2 | -6.2 | -16.9 | -22.6
Participation rate | 73.1 | 73.8 | 0.7 | 3.8 | 2.1
Unemployment rate | 7.9 | 7.3 | -0.6 | -2.0 | -2.5
Employment rate | 67.4 | 68.4 | 1.0 | 4.9 | 3.8

[UrbanWaterloo]

Wow, what an awesome local report! Another 4,500 jobs gained. A new all-time record employment level of 269,100. Our employment rate (68.4%) is now the 4th highest in the country! Only Calgary (70.2%), Saskatoon (69.0%) and Ottawa/Gatineau (68.7%) are higher.

[Spokes]

Waterloo Region’s jobless rate falls to 7.3 per cent, as national unemployment rises
August 06, 2010 | By Rose Simone, Record staff

WATERLOO REGION— Canada lost full-time jobs in July, but unemployment in Waterloo Region dropped again as the area enjoys a remarkable job boom.

The number of people employed in Waterloo Region “is actually at the highest level ever,” said Christine Neill, an economics professor at Wilfrid Laurier University.

Statistics Canada reported Friday that there were 269,100 people working in the region last month, which is up from 264,600 in the previous month, meaning 4,500 more people were working in this region in July compared to June.

Neill said in November, 2008, before the effects of the recession really began to hammer the region, there were 260,600 people working here, so there are more people working in this region now than prior to the recession.

In the depth of the recession about six months ago, employment dropped to a low of 244,800. So more than 24,000 jobs have been added to the region’s economy since then, Neill said.

“It has been mostly full-time employment growth over the past six months,” she said.

The region’s population has also grown and there are more people available for work, so there were still 21,200 unemployed people in the region last month. That is still high when compared to early 2008, when only about 13,000 people living here who were unemployed.

But the good news is that unemployment is down considerably from its peak in April, 2009, when 28,000 people were looking for work in the depths of the recession, Neill said.

The unemployment rate for the Kitchener census metropolitan area fell to 7.3 per cent in July from 7.9 per cent in the previous month.

The biggest job growth in the region has been in business and building support services sector, followed by finance, insurance and real estate, as well as construction and manufacturing.

Neill said the increase in the number of manufacturing jobs is not a big surprise considering how badly this area’s manufacturing sector was hit during the recession.

“I would have expected a recovery,” she said. “We got really badly hammered in the recession, so you do expect it to come back a bit compared to what it was.”

There were also some small increases of jobs in trade, health care and social assistance, accommodation and food services, information, culture and recreation, as well as the professional, scientific and technical services area.

On the other hand, transportation and warehousing, along with the educational services have lost jobs since January. The public administration sector has also experienced a small decline in jobs, she said.

Job growth in Waterloo Region bucked the national trend. Nationally, the unemployment rate edged back up to eight per cent in July, rising for the first time in almost a year as the economy shed 139,000 full-time jobs.

For the Kitchener census metropolitan area, which includes most of Waterloo Region, “it seems to be a good news story,” particularly because the unemployment rate fell even though the labourforce was bigger, said July Hosein, a labour analyst with Statistics Canada.

“Typically, when we see an increase in the number of people getting into the labourforce, we also see an increase in the unemployment rate. But here, we are not seeing that. The unemployment rate fell, which tells us that people who were entering the labourforce were finding jobs,” she said.

Despite the job growth in the region, Len Carter, president of the Waterloo Regional Labour Council, said there is “an absolute disconnect” between the types of jobs being added to the economy and the ability of people who lost jobs to find employment again.

“There are the people who are now on welfare because they haven’t been able to find jobs,” Carter said. Of those who did find jobs, many were only able to get “part-time jobs, contract jobs,” he added.

[UrbanWaterloo]

August 2010

Employment increased by 36,000 in August. At the same time, the unemployment rate edged up 0.1 percentage points to 8.1%, as more people entered the labour force.

Monthly gains in employment averaged 13,000 in July and August, compared with an average monthly increase of 51,000 during the first six months of the year.
Employment in educational services increased by 68,000 in August, rebounding from a decline of a similar magnitude the previous month. Similar offsetting movements in employment have occurred in this sector in recent summers (see Note to readers). With this gain in August, employment in this industry is back to levels observed during the first six months of the year.
There were also increases in professional, scientific and technical services and in natural resources in August. These gains, however, were dampened by losses in manufacturing; business, building and other support services; and information, culture and recreation.
The most notable employment gains in August were in Quebec, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador, while employment was little changed in the other provinces.
In August, full-time employment rose by 80,000 while part-time declined by 44,000. However, since the start of the upward trend in employment in July 2009, growth in part-time employment (+4.1%) has outpaced that of full-time (+2.2%).
August's employment increase was among both men and women aged 25 and over.
The average hourly wage for employees rose by 2.3% in August compared with the same month a year earlier.

Gains driven by service sector in August
With increases of 68,000 in August, employment in educational services rebounded from a decline of a similar magnitude the previous month. Large monthly movements in educational services employment have been seen in recent summers.
There were also gains in professional, scientific and technical services in August (+28,000). This industry recorded the highest growth rate of all major industry groups since July 2009, at 9.9% (+119,000).
Construction employment (+12,000) edged up in August, continuing the upward trend started in July 2009. Over this period, employment in this industry has grown by 9.6% or 109,000, the second highest growth rate of the major industry groups.
Natural resources posted employment gains of 9,000 in August, bringing total gains since July 2009 to 27,000 (+8.4%).
Manufacturing employment declined by 26,000 in August, offsetting the increase the previous month. Employment in this industry has been stable since July 2009.
In August, employment fell by 19,000 in business, building and other support services and by 18,000 in information, culture and recreation.
There were increases in the public sector (+58,000) and in self-employment (+18,000) in August, while there were declines among private sector employees (-40,000). Since July 2009, employment has grown by 4.3% in the public sector, 2.9% in the private sector, while self-employment edged down by 0.8%.

Notable gains in Quebec, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador
Quebec posted employment gains of 19,000 in August. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 8.2%, as more people entered the labour force. Since July 2009, employment growth of 3.0% (+115,000) in this province has been above the national average of 2.6%.
In Saskatchewan, employment rose by 5,400 in August, pushing the unemployment rate down 0.3 percentage points to 4.8%, the lowest in the country. Employment gains since July 2009 have totalled 13,000 (+2.4%).
In August, there were gains of 3,600 in Newfoundland and Labrador and the unemployment rate fell by 1.0 percentage point to 14.0%. This province has had the fastest rate of employment growth of all provinces since July 2009, at 5.0% (+11,000).
Employment in Ontario was little changed in August. The unemployment rate in this province was 8.8%, up 0.3 percentage points from the previous month, the result of an increase in the number of people in the labour force. Since July 2009, employment has increased by 2.7% (+178,000).

Employment up among adult workers in August
All of the employment gains in August were among workers aged 25 and over, up 20,000 for women and 18,000 for men. The unemployment rate was little changed for both groups, at 6.3% for women, and 7.4% for men.
There was little employment change among youths in August. The unemployment rate for 15 to 24 year-olds increased by 0.5 percentage points to 14.6%, as more youths looked for work.
Since July 2009, employment has increased at a much faster pace for workers aged 55 and over (+6.2%) than for youths (+1.9%) and workers aged 25 to 54 (+1.8%).

Summer labour market challenging for students
From May to August, the Labour Force Survey collects labour market information about young people aged 15 to 24 who were attending school full time in March and intend to return to school in the fall. The published estimates are not seasonally adjusted; therefore, comparisons can only be made on a year-over-year basis.
The 2010 summer labour market was challenging for students aged 15 to 24, with an average unemployment rate of 16.8% from May to August. Although an improvement from the summer of 2009, when the unemployment rate was 19.2%, it remains high compared with that of the summer of 2008, when the rate was 13.6%.
Older students fared better than their younger counterparts during the summer of 2010. The percentage of 20 to 24 year-olds employed averaged 66.5% in the summer of 2010, compared with 63.0% in the summer of 2009. In contrast, the percentage of 15 to 19 year-olds working declined slightly, from 42.8% to 42.5%.
The average number of hours worked during the summer of 2010 by students was 23.6 hours per week, among the lowest since data were first collected in 1977.

The next release of the Labour Force Survey will be on October 8.

Table 5-1: Labour force characteristics by census metropolitan area (seasonally adjusted) — 3 month moving average

	July 2010	August 2010	Change from			Percent change from
			last month	last December	twelve months ago	last month	last December	twelve months ago
	in thousands (except rates)
Kitchener, Ontario
Population	393.3	393.9	0.6	3.7	5.6	0.2	0.9	1.4
Labour force	290.3	287.3	-3.0	14.2	7.9	-1.0	5.2	2.8
Employment	269.1	267.2	-1.9	19.6	15.4	-0.7	7.9	6.1
Unemployment	21.2	20.1	-1.1	-5.4	-7.6	-5.2	-21.2	-27.4
Participation rate	73.8	72.9	-0.9	2.9	0.9	...	...	...
Unemployment rate	7.3	7.0	-0.3	-2.3	-2.9	...	...	...
Employment rate	68.4	67.8	-0.6	4.3	3.0	...	...	...

[UrbanWaterloo]

September 2010

There was little change in employment in September, as full-time gains were offset by part-time losses. The unemployment rate edged down 0.1 percentage points to 8.0%, as fewer people, particularly youth, participated in the labour market.

Since September 2009, overall employment has risen by 349,000 (+2.1%).
In September, the part-time employment decline of 44,000 was mostly offset by an increase of 37,000 in full time. Over the past year, however, part-time employment has grown by 4.6% (+146,000), a faster pace than the 1.5% growth in full time (+203,000).
Employment among 15- to 24-year-olds declined in September. For workers aged 25 to 54, increases among men were offset by declines among women. Both men and women aged 55 and over posted employment increases.
In September, there were employment declines in Ontario, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, while Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador as well as Nova Scotia posted gains.
While employment declined in professional, scientific and technical services, it increased in transportation and warehousing. There were no notable changes in the other industries.
Average hourly wages for employees increased by 2.3% in September compared with a year ago, a rate of growth similar to that of the previous two months.

Declines among youths and gains among men aged 25 to 54
In September, employment among 15- to 24-year-olds fell by 42,000, with the decline concentrated in Ontario. Losses in recent months have erased gains from the start of the year, bringing youth employment back to levels of a year ago.
There were also declines among women aged 25 to 54 (-28,000) in September, which brought their employment to a level similar to that of one year earlier.
Employment among men aged 25 to 54 increased by 27,000 in September. With this increase, employment gains for this group have totalled 138,000 (+2.3%) over the past 12 months.
Employment among those aged 55 and over continued its longstanding upward trend in September, with increases of 20,000 for men and 17,000 for women. Over the past 12 months, employment for this age group has grown by 7.7% among men and 5.9% among women, the highest rates of growth among all demographic groups.

Employment losses in Ontario
Employment fell by 23,000 in Ontario in September. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 8.8%, as there were fewer people, particularly youth, participating in the labour market. Despite the decline in September, employment in Ontario grew by 127,000 (+1.9%) from a year earlier.
Following a notable gain in August, employment in Saskatchewan dropped by 4,600 in September, pushing the unemployment rate up 0.7 percentage points to 5.5%. Despite this loss, employment has increased by 7,000 (+1.3%) over the past 12 months.
There were 2,500 fewer workers in New Brunswick in September, bringing total losses over the past 12 months to 5,600 (-1.5%).
Employment in Prince Edward Island declined by 2,200. This brought employment back to the same level as a year earlier.
In Quebec, employment was up 15,000 in September, pushing the unemployment rate down 0.5 percentage points to 7.7%. The number of workers in Quebec has risen by 122,000, or 3.2%, over the past year, the second highest growth rate at the national level after Newfoundland and Labrador.
Newfoundland and Labrador posted employment gains of 4,900. This province has had the fastest rate of growth of all provinces over the past 12 months, at 5.3% (+11,000). At the same time, the unemployment rate has trended down, reaching 13.5% in September, the lowest rate since July 2008.
In Nova Scotia, employment rose by 3,500 in September, pushing the unemployment rate down 0.8 percentage points to 9.0%. Employment gains in the province have totalled 7,400 (+1.6%) over the past 12 months.

Professional, scientific and technical services down following a period of strong growth
In September, employment in professional, scientific and technical services declined by 32,000 (-2.4%). Despite this drop, employment in this industry has grown by 86,000, or 7.2%, over the past 12 months, one of the highest rates of growth among all major industries.
The number of workers in transportation and warehousing rose by 15,000 in September, bringing total gains to 30,000 (+3.8%) over the past 12 months.
There was little change in manufacturing employment, continuing a stable trend that emerged about a year ago.
Although construction was little changed in September, employment in this industry has been on an upward trend for over a year, with gains totalling 68,000, or 5.8%, over the past 12 months. Employment growth in construction has been among the fastest of all the major industry groups over the past year.
There was virtually no change in the number of public or private sector employees in September, while the number of self-employed edged down. During the past 12 months, growth in the public sector (+3.7% or +128,000) has outpaced that in the private sector (+2.4% or +261,000). Over the same period, the number of self-employed workers declined by 1.5% (-40,000).

Quarterly update on territories
The Labour Force Survey also collects labour market information about the territories. This information is produced monthly in the form of three-month moving averages. Not all estimates are seasonally adjusted; therefore, comparisons should only be made on a year-over-year basis.
Employment was higher in all three territories in the third quarter of 2010 compared with the same quarter in 2009. In the Northwest Territories, employment increased by 1,400 over the period, pushing the unemployment rate down 1.2 percentage points to 6.4%.
In Nunavut, employment increased by 900 for the three months ending in September 2010 compared with the same period in 2009. The unemployment rate was 14.2% in the third quarter of 2010, relatively unchanged from the same period in 2009.
In Yukon, 700 more people were working in the third quarter of 2010 compared with a year earlier. The unemployment rate, at 6.3%, was slightly higher than in the third quarter of 2009.
The unemployment rates for the Northwest Territories and Yukon are among the lowest in the country. These two territories also had the highest proportions of the working-age population that were employed, at 71.1% for Yukon and 68.9% for the Northwest Territories.

The next release of the Labour Force Survey will be on November 5.

Table 5-1: Labour force characteristics by census metropolitan area (seasonally adjusted) — 3 month moving average

	August 2010	September 2010	Change from			Percent change from
			last month	last December	twelve months ago	last month	last December	twelve months ago
	in thousands (except rates)
Kitchener, Ontario
Population	393.9	394.4	0.5	4.2	5.6	0.1	1.1	1.4
Labour force	287.3	284.4	-2.9	11.3	6.4	-1.0	4.1	2.3
Employment	267.2	264.0	-3.2	16.4	11.3	-1.2	6.6	4.5
Unemployment	20.1	20.5	0.4	-5.0	-4.9	2.0	-19.6	-19.3
Participation rate	72.9	72.1	-0.8	2.1	0.6	...	...	...
Unemployment rate	7.0	7.2	0.2	-2.1	-1.9	...	...	...
Employment rate	67.8	66.9	-0.9	3.4	1.9	...	...	...

[UrbanWaterloo]

December 2010

Employment edged up for the second consecutive month in December, with an increase of 22,000. The unemployment rate held steady at 7.6%. Compared with December 2009, employment increased by 2.2% (+369,000), following a decline of 1.1% the previous year.

There were notable employment increases in December in manufacturing; transportation and warehousing; as well as in natural resources. At the same time, there were declines in construction; health care and social assistance; wholesale and retail trade; business building and other support services; as well as agriculture.
Full-time employment was up 38,000 in December, the fourth increase in the past five months. Despite these recent gains, part-time employment has grown faster (+3.4%) than full time (+1.9%) over the past 12 months. Full-time employment accounted for 81% of total employment in December.
Increases in the number of private sector employees in December were partly offset by declines in self-employment.
Among the provinces, Quebec, Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador saw employment gains in December, while British Columbia posted declines. Employment was little changed in the other provinces.

Strong gains in manufacturing and transportation and warehousing
Following a decline of 29,000 the previous month, manufacturing employment increased by 66,000 in December. The bulk of the gains were in Ontario and Quebec and were spread across a number of industries. This follows little overall change in the manufacturing sector in the previous 18 months.
Transportation and warehousing also saw a notable gain in December (+45,000). With this gain, employment in this industry was up 10.8% (+85,000) compared with December 2009.
Employment in natural resources increased by 7,700 in December, bringing growth in the industry to 10.8% (+33,000) over the past 12 months.
Employment in construction fell by 27,000 in December, the first notable decline since July 2009. Despite this decline, construction employment was up 4.8% over the past 12 months.
In December, employment in health care and social assistance declined by 24,000, following gains the previous month. Employment growth in this industry totalled 3.3% (+67,000) from a year earlier.
Employment in wholesale and retail trade fell by 22,000 in December. However, employment in this industry was relatively stable in 2010 (+0.7%).
Business, building and other support services also saw employment losses in December (-18,000). Compared with December 2009, however, employment was up by 8.1% (+50,000).
Agricultural employment fell by 8,000 in December, bringing total losses to 4.2% (-13,000) over the past 12 months.

More people working in the private sector
The number of private sector employees increased by 53,000 in December, while self-employment fell by 38,000. At the same time, public sector employment was little changed.
Over the past 12 months, 332,000 (+3.1%) employees were added to the private sector and 143,000 (+4.2%) to the public sector. The number of self-employed declined by 106,000 (-3.9%) over the same period.

Employment gains in Quebec, Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador
Employment in Quebec increased by 25,000 in December, pushing the unemployment rate down 0.3 percentage points to 7.6%. With December's gain, Quebec employment was up 102,000 (+2.6%) from a year earlier.
In Ontario, employment increased for the second consecutive month, up 23,000 in December. The unemployment rate edged down 0.1 percentage points to 8.1%. With December's increase, the number of workers in Ontario grew by 2.8% (+186,000) from a year earlier, above the national growth rate of 2.2%. Over the 12 months of 2009, Ontario's employment was down 1.8%, the largest decline among all provinces.
Newfoundland and Labrador saw employment increases of 2,500 in December, bringing total employment growth in the province to 4.6% (+9,900) compared with the same month a year earlier, the fastest rate of growth in the country.
Employment in British Columbia fell by 23,000 in December, pushing the unemployment rate up 0.7 percentage points to 7.6%. Compared with December 2009, employment in the province grew by 1.5% (+35,000).

More youths working in December
Following a large decline in the number of 15- to 24-year-olds participating in the labour market in November, youth employment increased by 26,000 in December. Employment was little changed for the other demographic groups.
Compared with December 2009, youth employment was up 1.8% (+42,000), below the overall employment growth of 2.2%. Over the same period, people aged 55 and over saw their employment levels increase by 6.6% (+186,000), of which half was due to aging of the population, as the number of people in this age group grew by 3.3% over the period. While this age group makes up less than a third of the working-age population, it accounted for 50% of the total employment growth over the past 12 months.
At the same time, people aged 25 to 54 saw their employment level grow by 1.2% (+141,000), primarily driven by men (+2.3%), compared with little growth among women (+0.1%).

Quarterly update on territories
The Labour Force Survey also collects labour market information about the territories. This information is produced monthly in the form of three-month moving averages. Not all estimates are seasonally adjusted; therefore, comparisons should only be made on a year-over-year basis.
All three territories saw employment gains in the fourth quarter of 2010 compared with the same quarter of 2009.
In the Northwest Territories, employment rose by 1,300 in the fourth quarter of 2010. The unemployment rate also increased by 1.7 percentage points to 7.7%, the result of an increase in the number of people seeking work. The participation rate reached 73.0%, the highest in the country.
In Yukon, employment rose by 1,000 during the three months ending in December 2010 compared with the same period in 2009. This increase pushed the unemployment rate down by 3.5 percentage points to 4.0% in the fourth quarter of 2010, the lowest nationally.
Nunavut saw employment gains of 900 in the fourth quarter of 2010 compared with the same quarter a year earlier. The unemployment rate increased by 2.5 percentage points to 15.2%, as there were more people participating in the labour market.

The next release of the Labour Force Survey will be on February 4.

Table 5-1: Labour force characteristics by census metropolitan area (seasonally adjusted) — 3 month moving average

	November 2010	December 2010	Change from			Percent change from
			last month	last December	twelve months ago	last month	last December	twelve months ago
	in thousands (except rates)
Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo CMA
Population	395.4	395.8	0.4	5.6	5.6	0.1	1.4	1.4
Labour force	277.0	277.1	0.1	4.0	4.0	0.0	1.5	1.5
Employment	255.5	256.6	1.1	9.0	9.0	0.4	3.6	3.6
Unemployment	21.5	20.6	-0.9	-4.9	-4.9	-4.2	-19.2	-19.2
Participation rate	70.1	70.0	-0.1	0.0	0.0	...	...	...
Unemployment rate	7.8	7.4	-0.4	-1.9	-1.9	...	...	...
Employment rate	64.6	64.8	0.2	1.3	1.3	...	...	...

[UrbanWaterloo]

2011 Revisions
January 28, 2011 | Link | PDF



Statistics Canada has an established practice of revising the Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates after a new series of postcensal population estimates become available. This standard revision includes: an update of the LFS estimates to reflect the most recent series of postcensal population estimates; updates to more current industry and occupation classifications; an update of geographic boundaries; as well as an update of seasonal adjustment. These revised LFS estimates are now available.

Up to December 2010, labour force estimates had been based on population data from the 2001 Census. Starting with today's release, all estimates are now based on the 2006 Census population counts. With this revision, the total Canadian population has been revised downward 0.3%, which is approximately half the size of the previous revision in 2005.

Levels of employment and unemployment have been revised downward when using the new population estimates. For December 2010, overall employment was revised down 0.6%, mostly the result of a downward revision of the population aged 25 to 54, the group with the highest employment rate. However, the unemployment rate was unchanged for December 2010.

Compared with the employment peak of October 2008, employment in December 2010 was lower by 30,000 (-0.2%) based on the revised LFS estimates.

Between the employment peak of October 2008 and the recent low in July 2009, the revised LFS estimates show an employment decline of 428,000 (-2.5%). Between July 2009 and December 2010, the revised LFS estimates indicate employment increased by 398,000 (+2.4%).

For the provinces, employment levels in December 2010 were revised downward by 1% or more for New Brunswick (-2.4%); British Columbia (-1.9%); Newfoundland and Labrador (-1.8%) and Prince Edward Island (-1.1%). The only upward revision was in Alberta (+0.8%).

[UrbanWaterloo]

January 2011

Employment rose for the second consecutive month in January, with a gain of 69,000. At the same time, the unemployment rate increased by 0.2 percentage points to 7.8%, as more people searched for work. Compared with January 2010, employment was up 1.9% (+327,000).

January's employment increase was evenly split between full and part time. Compared with the same month a year earlier, part-time employment grew by 2.8% (+91,000), while full time increased by 1.7% (+236,000).
Increases in employment in January occurred in business, building and other support services; public administration; and agriculture. Transportation and warehousing as well as accommodation and food services posted declines.
Employment gains in January were spread across six provinces: Ontario, Alberta, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Manitoba and Prince Edward Island.
In January, employment gains were shared among private sector employees, public sector employees and the self-employed. Over the past 12 months, there was growth among employees in both the public sector (+3.4%) and private sector (+2.5%), while self-employment declined by 2.3%.
The bulk of the employment gains in January were among women aged 25 and over.
Starting with this release, historical comparisons are based on revised estimates.

Most of the employment increases in the service sector
Following losses in December, business, building and other support services had notable gains in January (+34,000). There were also gains in public administration (+20,000) and agriculture (+13,000).
Manufacturing employment was little changed in January, following a sizeable increase of 66,000 the previous month. Employment in this industry was up 3.3% (+57,000) from January 2010.
Following notable gains in December, transportation and warehousing employment declined by 32,000 in January. Nonetheless, employment in this industry remained 6.5% (+51,000) higher than 12 months earlier.
Employment in accommodation and food services fell by 26,000 in January, bringing total losses to 3.5% (-37,000) over the past 12 months.

Employment gains spread across several provinces
In Ontario, employment increased for the third consecutive month, up 36,000 in January. The unemployment rate held steady at 8.1%, as there were more people participating in the labour market. With January's increase, the number of workers in Ontario grew by 2.3% (+151,000) from the same month a year earlier, above the national growth rate of 1.9%.
Alberta posted a notable employment increase of 22,000 in January, bringing total growth over the past 12 months to 44,000 (+2.2%). However, the unemployment rate rose by 0.4 percentage points to 5.9% in January as a result of an increase in the number of people seeking work.
Employment rose by 6,200 in Nova Scotia in January, pushing the unemployment rate down 0.9 percentage points to 9.5%.
In Newfoundland and Labrador, employment increased for the second month in a row, up 4,900 in January. This increase brings total gains in the province to 5.6% (+12,000) compared with a year earlier, the fastest rate of growth in the country.
Employment rose by 4,100 in Manitoba in January, bringing total employment gains over the previous 12 months to 10,000 (+1.6%).
In British Columbia, employment edged down in January and the unemployment rate increased 0.6 percentage points to 8.2%. Compared with a year earlier, employment was up 0.7% (+15,000).
Employment in Quebec was unchanged in January, and the unemployment rate rose to 7.9%, as more people searched for work. Over the past 12 months, Quebec's employment increased by 2.3% (+88,000).

More women employed in January
Employment among women aged 25 and over increased in January (+55,000), with gains for both the 25 to 54 and 55 and over age groups.
Over the past 12 months, however, employment growth for women was concentrated among those aged 55 and over. Their rate of employment (the proportion of women employed) rose by 1.4 percentage points to 29.4%. Over the same period, the rate of employment for women aged 25 to 54 declined 0.5 percentage points to 77.0%.
In January, employment was little changed for men aged 25 and over. Over the past 12 months, the rate of employment increased by 1.5 percentage points to 84.6% for men aged 25 to 54, while it increased by 1.0 percentage point to 39.5% for men aged 55 and over.
The number of 15- to 24- year-olds employed was little changed in January and their unemployment rate increased by 0.6 percentage points to 14.4%, as more youths searched for work. Compared with 12 months earlier, employment and the rate of employment for youth were virtually unchanged.

The next release of the Labour Force Survey will be on March 11.

Table 5-1: Labour force characteristics by census metropolitan area (seasonally adjusted) — 3 month moving average

Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo, Ontario
Figures in Thousands (Except Rates)

	December 2010	January 2011	Change from			Percent change from
			last month	last December	twelve months ago	last month	last December	twelve months ago
Population	404.8	405.3	0.5	0.5	6.3	0.1	0.1	1.6
Labour force	282.3	285.8	3.5	3.5	7.5	1.2	1.2	2.7
Employment	261.5	265.9	4.4	4.4	14.5	1.7	1.7	5.8
Unemployment	20.7	19.9	-0.8	-0.8	-7.0	-3.9	-3.9	-26.0
Participation rate	69.7	70.5	0.8	0.8	0.8	...	...	...
Unemployment rate	7.3	7.0	-0.3	-0.3	-2.7	...	...	...
Employment rate	64.6	65.6	1.0	1.0	2.6	...	...	...

[UrbanWaterloo]

Inside The Labour Market Downturn: October 2008 to October 2010
February 23, 2011 | Statistics Canada | Link | PDF



Employment rebounded more quickly from the recent economic downturn than it did in the recessions of the early 1980s and early 1990s.
In October 2008, employment peaked in Canada. During the following 12 months, employment declined by more than 400,000, but began to recover quickly in the subsequent year. January 2011 Labour Force Survey data indicate that employment took 27 months to fully recover its October 2008 level. In contrast, employment took 39 months to get back to its pre-recession level in the early 1980s, and 52 months in the early 1990s.
While employment has recovered, more people remain out of work than before the downturn. Between October 2008 and October 2010, the number of individuals without a job increased by 800,000. These include people who were classified as unemployed, as well as those who were not looking for a job and consequently were not considered participants in the labour force
This increase was smaller than during the two previous downturns, especially because the unemployed population grew at a slower pace during the recent downturn.
Nevertheless, several indicators of slack labour market demand (for example, the number of unemployed, long-term unemployment and involuntary part-time work) were still above their pre-downturn levels.

Unemployment
Between October 2008 and October 2010, the number of people classified as unemployed rose by 341,000 (+31%).
During the first two years of the 1990s downturn (April 1990 to April 1992), unemployment increased by 453,000 (+42%). In the first two years of the 1980s recession (June 1981 to June 1983), unemployment grew by 669,000 (+75%).
One reason for the slower increase in unemployment in the recent downturn was that permanent layoffs increased more slowly.
Between October 2008 and October 2010, the number of permanent layoffs rose by about 86,000 (+30%). This was below the increases of 57% from April 1990 to April 1992 and 116% from June 1981 to June 1983.
Other categories of unemployed workers also increased at a slower rate. For example, the number of "new entrants" (those with no previous work experience) and "re-entrants" (those who returned to the labour force after a period of non-participation) rose 33% during the most recent downturn. This compares with increases of 35% in the first two years of the early 1990s recession and 50% in the first two years of the early 1980s recession.
In all, permanent layoffs accounted for less than 30% of the increase in the unemployed population during the most recent downturn, compared with more than 50% in the first two years of the two previous recessions.

Long-term unemployment
Long-term unemployment is an indicator both of slack labour demand and its consequences for individuals. Just before the recent downturn, more than 80% of unemployed individuals had been without a job for 25 weeks or less, while less than 8% had been unemployed for at least one year.
Between October 2008 and October 2010, the number of unemployed people who had been without a job for at least one year almost doubled. Together with those who had been without a job for 26 to 51 weeks, these workers represented 23% of unemployed people in October 2010 compared with 15% in October 2008.
Still, long-term unemployment increased at a faster pace during the first two years of the two previous downturns. The number of individuals who had been unemployed for at least 52 weeks more than doubled in the early 1990s recession and almost quadrupled during the recession of the early 1980s.

Non-participants in the labour force
Between October 2008 and October 2010, the number of individuals aged 15 and over who were neither employed nor actively looking for work (the non-participants) increased by 458,000 (+5%). In comparison, the number of non-participants increased by 8% from April 1990 to April 1992 and by 3% from June 1981 to June 1983.
Discouraged job seekers (those who give up looking for a job because they believe none is available) are frequently cited as a source of growth among non-participants in labour market downturns. However, their proportion of non-participants (less than 1%) is so small that it has little effect on the total.
Rather, the number of non-participants during the recent two-year period grew mainly as a result of an increase in the number of students. The number of students grew by nearly 250,000 (+17%) over the period. An increase in the student population is not necessarily indicative of a back-to-school movement among workers. It could also mean that current students did not participate in the labour market due to the slowdown in hiring.
The number of seniors aged at least 65 also contributed to the overall increase in the number of non-participants, a natural consequence of the aging population.

Involuntary part time
Although employment levels recovered faster than in previous downturns, there were still 113,000 fewer full-time jobs in October 2010 than in October 2008.
In contrast, the number of part-time workers rose by more than 50,000, but that increase was not uniform across all categories of part timers.
Individuals who worked part time but would have liked to work full time (also called involuntary part timers) increased by 140,000 (+20%) over the period. Meanwhile, the number of individuals working part time on a voluntary basis declined by about 87,000.

United States: Comparable unemployment rate
It is also useful to examine differences in unemployment rates between Canada and the United States. When they were compared using similar concepts, unemployment rates in Canada and the United States in early 2008 were almost at parity. However, by the summer of 2008, a gap had grown between them. By the end of 2010, the unemployment rate in the United States was still over 9%, while the adjusted rate in Canada was just under 7%.

[UrbanWaterloo]

HEALTHY HIRING CLIMATE EXPECTED FOR KITCHENER AND CAMBRIDGE
March 8, 2011 | Manpower | Link | Local | National | PDF

Kitchener and Cambridge area employers expect a healthy hiring climate for the second quarter of 2011, according to the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey. Survey data reveals that 27 per cent of employers plan to hire for the upcoming quarter (April to June), while five per cent anticipate cutbacks, stated Brooke Langdon of Manpower’s Mississauga office. Another 68 per cent of employers plan to maintain their current staffing levels for the upcoming quarter. “Kitchener and Cambridge’s second quarter Net Employment Outlook of 22 per cent is an increase from the previous quarter when area employers reported an outlook of one per cent,” said Langdon. “It is also a 12 percentage point improvement from the outlook reported during the same time last year indicating an active hiring climate for the second quarter of 2011. “Strengthened by an active Outlook in the Western Region, the national Net Employment Outlook for the upcoming quarter indicates a hopeful hiring climate for the April to June time frame,” says Byrne Luft, VP of Operations – Staffing Services for Manpower Canada. “Overall, Canadian employers are telling us that they plan to hire at a similar pace as they did in the previous quarter.” Among the 10 surveyed industry sectors, employers in the Mining sector report the most favourable results for the second quarter of 2011 with a seasonally adjusted Net Employment Outlook of 25 per cent. This is followed by the Services and Transportation & Public Utilities industry sectors both of which reported positive hiring outlooks with Net Employment Outlooks of 16 per cent.

[UrbanWaterloo]

February 2011

Employment edged up in February (+15,000), bringing total gains over the past three months to 115,000. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 7.8%. Over the past 12 months, employment has risen by 1.9% (+322,000).

Part-time employment rose by 39,000 in February, partly offset by a decline in full-time work. Over the past 12 months, part-time employment has grown by 5.1% (+166,000), while full time increased by 1.1% (+156,000).
There were small gains spread across a number of industries in February, led by health care and social assistance, and accommodation and food services. At the same time, there were declines in business, building and other support services and in public administration.
In February, the number of self-employed workers increased by 26,000, while the number of private sector employees edged down and public sector employment changed little. Over the past 12 months, however, self-employment edged down 0.6%, while the pace of growth for private sector employees matched that of the public sector (+2.4%).
Alberta was the only province with a notable employment gain in February, up 14,000. At the same time, employment declined in Saskatchewan (-3,300). There was little change in all other provinces.
Employment for youths aged 15 to 24 increased by 16,000 in February. There was little change for the other major demographic groups.

Employment up slightly in health care and social assistance and accommodation and food services
The number of health care and social assistance workers rose by 18,000 in February, following a similar increase the month before. This brought employment growth in the industry to 87,000 (+4.3%) over the past 12 months.
In February, there was also an increase in the number of workers in accommodation and food services (+15,000). Despite this increase, employment in this industry has fallen by 44,000 over the past 12 months.
Following sizeable gains at the end of 2010, manufacturing employment held steady over the first two months of 2011. Employment in the industry was up 2.9% (+50,000) from February 2010.
Employment in business, building and other support services decreased by 35,000 in February, offsetting an increase of similar magnitude the month before. This leaves employment in the industry at about the same level as a year ago.
Employment in public administration was down by 14,000 in February, offsetting most of the increase in January. Despite this decline, the number of workers in public administration has grown by 38,000 since February 2010.

More workers in Alberta
Employment in Alberta increased for the second consecutive month, up 14,000 in February. As a result, the unemployment rate edged down by 0.2 percentage points to 5.7%.
Compared with February 2010, when Alberta was near its employment-low following the labour market downturn, employment has grown by 3.4% (+68,000), well above the national rate of 1.9%. Several industries contributed to the year-over-year growth for the province, including manufacturing, natural resources, and professional, scientific and technical services.
Following an increase of 78,000 over the previous three months, employment in Ontario edged down in February. The unemployment rate also edged down to 8.0%, the result of fewer people participating in the labour force. The number of workers in Ontario has risen by 2.1% (+138,000) over the past 12 months.
Employment in Quebec was little changed in February, leaving employment growth in the province over the past 12 months at 2.2% (+86,000). The unemployment rate in February was 7.7%.
While there was little employment change in British Columbia in February, the unemployment rate for the province increased 0.6 percentage points to 8.8%, the result of more people entering the labour force in search of work.
Saskatchewan was the only province with a notable decline in employment in February, down 3,300. While this pushed the unemployment rate in the province up 0.3 percentage points to 5.7%, it remained among the lowest in the country. The decline in the number of workers leaves employment in the province at the same level observed in February 2010.

Youth employment rises in February
The number of employed 15- to 24- year-olds increased by 16,000 in February, all in part-time work. Their unemployment rate edged down to 14.3%. Over the past 12 months, employment for youths has risen by 1.1% (+26,000).
In February, there was little employment change among men and women aged 25 to 54 and 55 and over. Compared with 12 months earlier, employment growth was fastest among women aged 55 and over (+8.0%), followed by men in the same age group (+4.6%). Over the same period, men aged 25 to 54 experienced growth of 2.0%, while employment for women in that same age group was unchanged.

The next release of the Labour Force Survey will be on April 8.

Table 5-1: Labour force characteristics by census metropolitan area (seasonally adjusted) — 3 month moving average

Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo, Ontario
Figures in Thousands (Except Rates)

	January 2011	February 2011	Change from			Percent change from
			last month	last December	twelve months ago	last month	last December	twelve months ago
Population	405.3	405.7	0.4	0.9	6.2	0.1	0.2	1.6
Labour force	285.8	290.4	4.6	8.1	9.8	1.6	2.9	3.5
Employment	265.9	271.3	5.4	9.8	19.0	2.0	3.7	7.5
Unemployment	19.9	19.1	-0.8	-1.6	-9.2	-4.0	-7.7	-32.5
Participation rate	70.5	71.6	1.1	1.9	1.4	...	...	...
Unemployment rate	7.0	6.6	-0.4	-0.7	-3.5	...	...	...
Employment rate	65.6	66.9	1.3	2.3	3.7	...	...	...