Canadian employment growth flat in January, but jobless rate ticks up to 7.2%
Employment growth in Canada sputtered in neutral last month as a net gain in Ontario jobs was offset by significant losses in Alberta — with its most dismal numbers in a decade — and in Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador, Statistics Canada said Friday.
While the national unemployment rate still crept up to 7.2 per cent from 7.1 per cent, more people entered the job market, the agency said in its latest labour force survey.
StatCan says there were 5,700 fewer jobs recorded, but the number was within the survey’s margin of error and not statistically significant.
The report found a nationwide net increase of 19,700 jobs in the services industry only partially made up for the 25,300 net drop in employment in the goods-producing sector. The decline was weighed down by big losses 13,700 positions in agriculture and 11,000 jobs in manufacturing.