By Gordon Isfeld
OTTAWA (MaceNews) – The Canadian economy produced a surprisingly strong gain in employment during August, adding 81,000 jobs — the majority being part-time positions — while the unemployment rate remained steady at 5.7 per cent for a third consecutive month.
Full-time hiring accounted for 23,800 new jobs in August, while part-time hiring totaled 57,200, Statistics Canada said Friday. The number of private-sector employees increased in August, more than offsetting the decline in the previous month.
Most forecasters had expected an August increase of just 15,000 new jobs, compared to a 24,000 decline in July.
The bulk of the employment increase in August was in Ontario and Quebec, Statistics Canada said. There were also smaller gains in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick. Employment held steady in the other provinces.
There were more people employed in finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing; educational services; and in professional, scientific and technical services. In contrast, employment declined in business, building and other support services.
Following a decline in July, the number of private-sector employees increased by 94,000 in August, mostly in finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing; wholesale and retail trade; and in transportation and warehousing. At the same time, the number of public-sector employees and self-employed workers held steady.
Compared with 12 months earlier, the number of private-sector employees increased by 394,000 (+3.3%). Over the same period, public-sector employment and the number of self-employed were little changed.
“No debate that this is a sturdy jobs result, that both erases the softness in prior months and leaves the BoC firmly on the sidelines,” said Douglas Porter, chief economist at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto.
“We would note that the blow-out employment gain in the past year has been flattered by soaring population growth and by the fact that hours worked have risen a much more pedestrian 1.2% year-over-year,” Porter said.
“But that does not detract from the broader picture that the Canadian economy is indeed showing impressive resilience in the face of the many global storm clouds.”