Canada recorded one of its best months of job gains on record in August, a surprising show of strength by a labour market that has been relentlessly powering the nation’s expansion.
The economy added 81,100 last month, Statistics Canada said Friday in Ottawa, versus expectations for a gain of about 20,000. Canada has now added 471,300 jobs over the past 12 months, the most in a year since 2003.
The unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.7 per cent, as much of the employment gain reflected a surge in new entrants to the labour force rather than fewer jobless individuals.
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The monster gain in August — which was largely part-time employment — marks a rebound from back-to-back poor readings earlier in the summer and should ease worries about the extent of any slowdown in the second half of this year.
The rebound in jobs should also reaffirm expectations at the Bank of Canada that the economy has developed a certain amount of resilience to global trade headwinds, giving the central bank ammunition to buck the global easing trend
The strong jobs market is largely being fed by new workers. That’s a good sign, suggesting there is a reserve of available workers that employers can tap. That should help temper any overheating risks and raise confidence the jobs rally has more room to run. The labour force jumped by 91,300 in August, more than half of which were youth. The participation rate increased to 65.8 per cent of the population.
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- Wage gains slowed but remained strong. Hourly pay was up 3.7 per cent in August from a year earlier. While that’s down from 4.5 per cent in July, it’s still well above average in recent years. Permanent worker pay slowed to an annual pace of 3.8 per cent
- Total hours worked in August were up 1.2 per cent from a year earlier, compared to 0.7 per cent annual pace in July
- The economy added 23,800 full-time jobs in August, while part- time employment increased by 57,200
- The number of people employed by private sector companies surged 94,300, more than reversing a drop the previous month
- The employment gain last month was largely in services, which recorded a 73,300 increase
- Bloomberg.com
