Canada jobs

Canada Adds 34,500 Jobs In January As Unemployment Falls To 5.5%

Canada employment increased by 34,500 in January as unemployment dropped to 5.5 percent, according to the latest federal government Canada jobs report.

The country has now added 268,000 jobs in the last 12 months, with all the gains in full-time work.

Major gains during the month were seen in Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba and New Brunswick.

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Demographically, the major groups saw little change in January.

Young people aged 15 to 24 have added 58,000 jobs since the start of 2019 for an unemployment rate of 10.3 percent.

At the end of January, the unemployment rate for those aged 25 to 54 stood at 4.9 percent for men and 4.7 percent for women.

What Are The Labour Force Survey Highlights?

Unemployment rate (%)	5.5
Employment rate (%)	61.8
Labour force participation rate (%)	65.4
Number unemployed	1,124,400
Number working	19,159,100
Youth (15-24) unemployment rate (%)	10.3
Men (over 25) unemployment rate (%)	4.9
Women (over 25) unemployment rate (%)	4.6

Source: Statistics Canada

Provincial Canada Jobs Picture

Quebec led the way in January, adding 19,100 jobs for an unemployment rate of 5.1 percent. The French-speaking province has now added 60,000 jobs in the last 12 months.

Ontario, meanwhile, added 15,900 jobs for an unemployment rate of 5.2 percent.

In Manitoba employment rose by 6,500 in January, the province’s largest monthly increase since April 2008. The provincial unemployment rate stood at 5.1 percent, the second-lowest of all the provinces.

Employment rose by 4,600 in New Brunswick, contributing to annual gains of 5,300 jobs. The province’s unemployment rate in January stood at 7.5 percent.

British Columbia, meanwhile, continued to lead the way on unemployment, with a provincial low of 4.5 percent. The westernmost province added 3,400 jobs in January.

Which Canadian Province Has the Lowest Unemployment?

	Jobs change January	Unemployment rate (%)
1) British Columbia	3,400	4.5
2=) Manitoba	6,500	5.1
2=) Quebec	19,100	5.1
4) Ontario	15,900	5.2
5) Saskatchewan	1,200	6.0
6) Alberta	-18,900	7.3
7) Nova Scotia	1,700	7.4
8=) New Brunswick	4,600	7.5
8=) Prince Edward Island	300	7.5
10) Newfoundland & Labrador	800	11.9
CANADA	34,500	5.5

Source: Statistics Canada

Canada Jobs By Industry

The good-producing sector led the way in January when looking at the jobs picture by industry.

Manufacturing added 21,000 jobs, construction 16,000 and agriculture 12,000.

While the service sector saw little change in January, it has added 236,000 jobs in the last 12 months.

Gains have been spread across several industries, including finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing, professional, scientific and technical services and health care and social assistance.

What Are Canada’s Top Technology Occupations?

The public and private sectors both saw little change in January, as well as the self-employed sector.

All three have seen healthy increases over the last 12 months, including 107,000 jobs for the public sector and 106,000 for the private sector, while the number of self-employed workers grew by 55,000.

Colin Singer

Colin Singer is an international acclaimed Canadian immigration lawyer and founder of immigration.ca featured on Wikipedia. Colin Singer is also founding director of the Canadian Citizenship & Immigration Resource Center (CCIRC) Inc. He served as an Associate Editor of ‘Immigration Law Reporter’, the pre-eminent immigration law publication in Canada. He previously served as an executive member of the Canadian Bar Association’s Quebec and National Immigration Law Sections and is currently a member of the Canadian Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Colin has twice appeared as an expert witness before Canada’s House of Commons Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration. He is frequently recognized as a recommended authority at national conferences sponsored by government and non-government organizations on matters affecting Canada’s immigration and human resource industries. Since 2009, Colin has been a Governor of the Quebec Bar Foundation a non-profit organization committed to the advancement of the profession, and became a lifetime member in 2018.