Province’s jobless rate up slightly, StatsCan reports
Alberta’s employment picture was largely unchanged in January despite the loss of almost 25,000 fulltime positions during the month, Statistics Canada said Friday.
Its latest labour force survey showed the loss of 24,300 full-time jobs was offset by a corresponding surge in part-time work. The province’s unemployment rate rose to 8.8 per cent in January, from 8.5 per cent a month earlier, as more people looked for work. Calgary’s unemployment rate fell to 9.8 per cent, from 10.1 per cent.
“Because our province has spent most of the last two years in recession, we are now at the point where the year-over-year comparison shows little change,” ATB Financial said in a report.
“With stability in the energy sec- tor and business confidence gradually improving this year, the job market is unlikely to show further deterioration. That is, the worst is over. On the other hand, employers may be hesitant to start hiring back too many workers — suggesting a few more difficult months ahead for job seekers.”
Nationally, the job market added 48,300 net new positions, thanks to gains in part-time and private-sector work that dropped the January unemployment rate to 6.8 per cent, from 6.9 per cent, StatsCan said.
Even with more people working, the composition of the labour data remained sub par due to some “lingering weakness,” said Desjardins senior economist Jimmy Jean.
He pointed to the disappointing growth in hourly wages in Janu- ary compared with a year earlier. Hourly earnings increased by less than 1.3 per cent, which was below inflation. In the past, Jean said hourly wages have often grown between two and three per cent, and sometimes even a little bit more.
Looking back 12 months, Canada gained 276,100 net new jobs overall with the addition of 86,200 fulltime positions and 189,900 parttime jobs. The job market has now seen increases in five out of the last six monthly reports. In December, the overall labour force expanded by 53,700 net jobs compared with the previous month.
Among the provinces, Ontario gained the most jobs last month with 28,800 new positions.