Quebec Maintains Historically Low Unemployment At 4.9%

Quebec maintained a historically low unemployment rate of 4.9 per cent after adding 16,600 jobs in July, new Canada jobs figures show.

The Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey puts the French-speaking province second only to British Columbia in terms of provincial unemployment.

Canada-wide, unemployment edged up to 5.7 per cent in July, with 24,200 fewer jobs and more people looking for work.

In the year since July 2018, employment has risen by 353,000, or 1,9 per cent, mainly in full-time work.

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From a demographic standpoint, employment for men aged 25 to 54 rose by 24,000 in July, with their unemployment rate dropping to 4.9 per cent.

Core-aged women, meanwhile, moved in the other direction, losing 18,000 jobs, with the unemployment rate rising by 0.2 percentage points to 4.5 per cent.

Over the last year, both core-aged men (112,000 jobs) and women (69,000) have seen significant increases.

What Are The Labour Force Survey Highlights?

Unemployment rate (%)	5.7
Employment rate (%)	61.9
Labour force participation rate (%)	65.6
Number unemployed	1,149,900
Number working	19,030,400
Youth (15-24) unemployment rate (%)	11.4
Men (over 25) unemployment rate (%)	5.1
Women (over 25) unemployment rate (%)	4.4

Source: Statistics Canada

In the 55 and over demographic employment show negligible change in July for an unemployment rate of 4.9 per cent. Over the last year it is up 138,000, or 3.8 per cent.

For the 15 to 24 age-group, 19,000 jobs were lost in July, with unemployment rising to 0.7 per cent.

Which Canadian Province Has the Lowest Unemployment?

	Jobs change July	Unemployment rate (%)
1) British Columbia	-4,800	4.4
2) Quebec	16,600	4.9
3) Saskatchewan	-2,200	5.4
4) Ontario	-10,700	5.7
5) Manitoba	-100	5.8
6) Alberta	-14,300	7.0
7) Nova Scotia	-6,200	7.4
8) Prince Edward Island	1,000	8.4
9) New Brunswick	-4,800	8.5
10) Newfoundland & Labrador	1,100	12.8
CANADA	-24,200	5.7

Source: Statistics Canada

Provincial Canada Jobs Picture

Quebec spearheaded the provinces, with the 16,600 jobs added coming mainly in manufacturing and construction. Employment has increased by 96,000 over the last year in the French-speaking province, an increase of 2.3 per cent.

Prince Edward Island saw a healthy increase of 1,000 jobs in July, causing the unemployment rate to drop by 0.9 percentage points to 8.4 per cent. PEI has now added 2,200 jobs in the last year, an increase of 2.9 per cent given its low population.

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Ontario employment saw little change in July, as Canada’s largest province saw unemployment edge up to 5.7 per cent, matching the national average.

The province has added 118,000 jobs, an increase of 1.8 per cent, in the last year.

British Columbia continues to lead the way on unemployment, edging down by 0.1 percentage point to 4.4 per cent. The province has added 94,000 jobs in the last year, an increase of 3.8 per cent.

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.