The Canadian jobs recovery in the wake of the oil crisis seems to be in full swing, as the economy pumped out another 19,400 net jobs in March, Statistics Canada reported Friday.
These numbers come on the heels of “respectable” 15,300 jobs the economy created in February, BMO chief economist Douglas Porter said in a note to clients. However, much of the gain was in the more precarious self-employment, and as many sectors saw job losses as job gains, Porter said.
Statistics Canada’s job survey showed the country’s unemployment rate crept up in March to 6.7 per cent from 6.6 per cent because more people were looking for work.
The addition of over 19,000 jobs was well ahead of consensus expectations, and brings the first quarter total to a smart 83,000 jobs, said CIBC senior economist Nick Exarhos.
The March numbers mean that 276,000 more people were employed compared to a year earlier, said Dawn Desjardins Deputy Chief Economist at RBC.
“This jibes with the strong acceleration in real GDP that started in the middle of 2016,” Desjardins wrote in a note to clients. “Heading into next week’s Bank of Canada meeting this data run gives the Bank a lot to think about.”
The country lost 2,400 positions in the services sector last month, and 13,000 jobs in transportation and warehousing.
The manufacturing sector added 24,400 positions — mostly in Ontario and to a lesser degree in Alberta — to climb back up to the same level it was 12 months earlier. This is the largest one-month increase in manufacturing since August 2002, according to Statistics Canada.
“Although there are threats from potential developments south of the border, stronger production and investment could be the combination needed to claw back jobs in the sector,” Exarhos wrote in his analytical note.
Still, compared with its peak in the early 2000s, the manufacturing sector has about 630,000 fewer jobs, a drop of 27 per cent, Statistics Canada said.
Alberta easily saw the biggest overall job boost among provinces, adding 20,700 full-time jobs last month. At the other end of the spectrum, Quebec shed 17,800 full-time positions.
The number of private-sector jobs rose 13,700 between February and March, while public-sector positions dropped by 12,700.
- Newfoundland and Labrador 14.9 per cent (14.2)
- Prince Edward Island 10.1 (10.0)
- Nova Scotia 8.6 (8.1)
- New Brunswick 8.4 (8.9)
- Quebec 6.4 (6.4)
- Ontario 6.4 (6.2)
- Manitoba 5.5 (5.8)
- Saskatchewan 6.0 (6.0)
- Alberta 8.4 (8.3)
- British Columbia 5.4 (5.1)
With files from The Canadian Press
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