Surprising gain in job creation in January
Posted February 10, 2017 10:52 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Canada unexpectedly added 48,300 jobs last month, for its fifth gain in six months. Part-time and private-sector work led the way, with the jobless rate dropping a tenth of a point.
Bank of Montreal chief economist Doug Porter says the job market and economy have “turned the corner after a challenging couple of years” but he adds “that’s not to say everything’s hunky-dory, we’ve still got an unemployment rate of 6.8 per cent and we’ve really been stuck in that zone around seven per cent for about four years.”
British Columbia continues to have Canada’s lowest unemployment rate, down two-tenths of a point to 5.6 per cent.
Employment in January increased by a net 11,200, led by 25,400 full-time positions while 14,200 part-time jobs were lost. Statistics Canadas says “In the 12 months to January (BC’s) employment increased by 82,000 or 3.5%, the fastest growth rate among the provinces.”
