(file photo/JPBG)

By Tyler Marr

NOW HIRING

Surge in employment nationally, drop in unemployment regionally: StatsCan

Sep 6, 2019 | 10:30 AM

After minor fluctuations in the labour force over the past few months, the nation’s economy added nearly 81,100 net new jobs in August.

Statistics Canada’s monthly labour force survey showed employment rose largely in part-time work. Despite the increase, Canada’s unemployment rate held steady at 5.7 per cent as more people looked for work.

Full-time employment rose by around 23,800 jobs, while part-time work surged by nearly 57,200.

When compared to August 2018, employment is up by 2.5 per cent or 471,000 positions, the result of gains in both full- and part-time work.

Over the same period, the national statics agency says hours worked are up 1.2 per cent. The number of private sector employees increased in August, more than offsetting the decline in July.

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CIBC Chief Economist Avery Shenfeld wrote in a note to clients Friday that if the Bank of Canada was on the fence about cutting interest rates next month, this report should shove them in the direction of standing pat for now.

“But while treating today’s news with due skepticism, it does suggest that the July hiring plunge might also not have been a true signal, and leaves a picture of a labour market that is still in the vicinity of full employment,” he wrote.

For believers in the month-to-month swings, he wrote the details in the August report were solid.

The national trend was somewhat mirrored in Saskatchewan. Around 5,300 new full-time jobs were added in August but the province shed 2,500 part-time roles. The net gain pushed the unemployment rate down to 5.1 per cent, the third lowest in Canada behind British Columbia at five per cent and Quebec at 4.7.

Regionally, data for Prince Albert and Northern Saskatchewan, which includes figures for our area, painted a mixed picture. The unemployment rate is down year-over-year to 7.5 per cent from 8.6 and the participation rate is up from 67.6 to 68 per cent. However, the overall size of the labour force has shrunk from 107,800 to 107,300 as the population dwindled from 159,400 to 157,900.

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tyler.marr@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr