Victoria jobless rate edges up to 4.3%

Greater Victoria’s unemployment rate increased slightly in August, while the labour force and the total number of people employed shrank slightly, according to numbers released Friday by Statistics Canada.

The capital region still has the third lowest unemployment rate in the country at 4.3 per cent, up from 4.2 in July, behind only Quebec City at 3.7 and Guelph, Ont. at 4.1.

Vincent Ferrao, a labour force analyst with Statistics Canada, said the increase in the unemployment rate “was not statistically significant,” noting most industry sectors saw improved job numbers.

Retail and wholesale trade saw an increase of 6,100 jobs to 33,400 last month compared with a year ago, while educational services increased 3,900 to 16,100 and construction ramped up 2,800 jobs to 18,300 during the last 12 months.

Ferrao noted the only sector that saw a significant decline over the past year was the accommodations and food-services sector, which shed 2,000 jobs to 13,900.

Overall, Victoria’s labour force had 206,300 people in August, down from 208,900 in July but increased from the 200,700 recorded in August last year. The total number of people employed was 197,400 last month, down from 200,100 in July but again up from the 191,700 in August 2017.

The labour force survey showed the country’s big, midsummer gains had essentially been wiped out by August.

The Canadian economy lost 51,600 net jobs last month in a decrease that helped drive the national unemployment rate to six per cent, up from 5.8 per cent in July.

Last month’s drop, fuelled by the loss of 92,000 part-time positions, largely eliminated July’s healthy net increase of 54,100 positions.

However, August also featured a notable bright spot: full-time jobs rose by 40,400.

“A little bit of a mixed bag, but definitely not quite as bad as the headline would suggest,” TD senior economist Brian DePratto said of the August jobs report.

“Another messy one, to be frank … It’s always a noisy report, but it seems like the last few months have been particularly noisy.”

A closer look at the August data revealed even more turbulence in the month-to-month numbers.

Ontario lost 80,100 jobs last month after gaining 60,600 in July — with both data points almost entirely driven by swings in part-time work.

The August decrease, a drop of 1.1 per cent, was by far the biggest decline among the provinces. It helped bump Ontario’s unemployment rate to 5.7 per cent, from 5.4 per cent.

Royce Mendes, director and senior economist for CIBC Capital Markets, doesn’t expect the results to be enough to prevent the Bank of Canada from raising its benchmark interest rate in October, although if the economy remains in a “lower gear,” he believes governor Stephen Poloz will need to follow a more gradual rate-hiking approach thereafter.

The central bank will also pay close attention to more signs on Friday that wages are softening in Canada, despite the tightened labour market.