Canada Employment Report for March 2018 Highlights 32,000 Jobs Created in March!

According to the Labour Force Survey, March 2018:

“Employment increased by 32,000 in March, driven by full-time gains. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.8%.”

In the first quarter of 2018, employment edged down (-40,000 or -0.2%), as a result of a decrease in January. Over the longer term, employment has been on an upward trend since the second half of 2016.

On a year-over-year basis, total employment rose by 296,000 (+1.6%), with the number of full-time workers increasing by 335,000 (+2.3%). Over the same period, total hours worked grew by 2.2%.

In March, among the core-aged population (25 to 54 years old), employment increased for women and decreased for men. At the same time, employment was up for youth aged 15 to 24, and was little changed for people 55 years and older.

Employment was up in Quebec and Saskatchewan, while there was little change in the other provinces.

There were more people working in construction, public administration and agriculture.

The number of public sector employees edged up, while the number of private sector employees and self-employed held steady.

Access the full report below.

Global News reported “Canadian economy added 32K jobs in March, unemployment rate stays at 40-year low

StatsCan says the labour force produced 68,300 full-time positions last month and shed 35,900 part-time jobs. However, the survey shows that 19,600 of the new employee positions were created in the public sector, while the number of private-sector workers declined by 7,000.”

At 1:20 in this CTV BNN video Pattie Lovett-Reid explains the positive job growth numbers are well above projected and answers the question “Does job hopping hurt or help your career?”

Saskatchewan was well covered in this CBC article about the Labour report, highlighting that employment in Saskatchewan has been relatively flat since the spring of 2016.

CBC also pointed out the numbers mean Canada’s economy has lost 40,000 jobs over the first three months of 2018, but over the longer term, the job market has added 296,000 jobs since March 2017.

Sources:

Statistics Canada – Labour Force Survey, March 2018

CTV – Canada adds 32,300 jobs, all full time, as jobless rate stays at record low

CBC – Canada adds 32,000 jobs in March, mostly full-time work

CBC – StatsCan says employment in Sask. ‘relatively flat’ since 2016