In April, Canada’s employment fell by 2.1k net jobs, following a strong rise of 41 k net positions in March. Canada’s jobless rate remained at 7.1%. Given the decline in April, the nation’s employment trend seems to be more consistent with Canada’s economic fundamentals that continue to be in line with job growth trend of about 5k to 7.5k per month, noted TD Economics.
In April, full-time employment declined by 2.4k net positions, whereas part-time employment grew slightly by 0.4k. Private and public sector employment both rose in April, in spite of the negative headline. Private sector employment gained 14.4k positions, while public sector employment gained 8.4k positions. Self-employment fell 29.9 k, leading the overall decline in employment.
Industry wise, employment in goods-producing sectors fell 37.1k. This mainly held back employment. Employment in manufacturing sector fell 16.5k. In contrast to this, employment in service sectors continued to rise. Strength was particularly seen in trade and accommodation and food services subsectors.
Region wise, there was major disparity in employment. In Alberta, employment fell 37k as compared to the levels seen one year ago. Moreover, knock-on impacts from the weakness in oil-producing regions are becoming quite clear in other sectors, according to TD Economics. These impacts are likely to slow down the rate of job growth nationally relative to the labor force growth, added TD Economics. This might result in the jobless rate to rise slightly higher in the following months, said TD Economics.
