In this week’s EconMinute, we’re talking about September Labour Force Survey numbers.
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Employment in Canada rebounded in September, adding 21k jobs—the first monthly increase since May. The largest gains were in British Columbia, which added 33k jobs, offsetting a similar loss in Ontario. Meanwhile, Alberta added nearly 11k jobs compared to August.
Canada’s unemployment rate fell from 5.4% in August to 5.2% in September. Meanwhile, the provincial jobless rate rose from 5.4% to 5.5% as more Albertans started looking for work.
Job gains in Alberta were led in professional services, which added 9.5k jobs in September. Employment in construction, education and health care were all higher as well, rebounding from losses in August.
Most of Alberta’s job growth since the pandemic has been in the services sector, especially in professional services, finance, and transportation/warehousing. However, agriculture, hospitality and manufacturing are still struggling to recover.
The bad news for Alberta is that job gains were entirely in part-time positions. The province added 24k part-time positions, while losing 13k full-time jobs in September.
Older men have been hardest hit and slowest to recover since the onset of COVID. Employment for men 55+ has risen for 3 consecutive months but is still 6% below pre-pandemic levels.
Alberta’s long-term unemployment rate rose in September for the first time in 4 months. About 11% of unemployed Albertans have been without a job for a year or longer.