The January numbers for the employment came in on Friday and the good news is there were more folks employed, the bad news is, more folks were looking for jobs too, so at the end of it, both Employment and Unemployment is up this month (one of those interesting months, where I scratch my head).
Our friends at Stats Canada pointed out:
Employment rose for the second consecutive month in January, with a gain of 69,000. At the same time, the unemployment rate increased by 0.2 percentage points to 7.8%, as more people searched for work. Compared with January 2010, employment was up 1.9% (+327,000).
Which is quite encouraging, having more people looking is actually a good thing as well (if those same folks had given up previously). More than 327,000 jobs from last year at this time is a very good thing (yes the percentage of those that are full time makes the number a little deceptive, but still a good thing).
If we look at the employment graph we are above where we were in 2008, so maybe things are getting better (finally).
The weird part is that unemployment rate has gone up as well
The numbers are better than a year ago, but the fact that it went up, because more folks are looking makes it a little easier to take.
The job increases in January were evenly split between full and part time jobs, but more jobs, is more jobs.
The Big Table
So here is one of the 3 big tables that Stats Canada provides for your perusal Labor Force Characteristic by Age and Sex:
| Dec 2010 | Jan 2011 | Dec 2010 to Jan 2011 | Jan 2010 to Jan 2011 | Dec 2010 to Jan 2011 | Jan 2010 to Jan 2011 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seasonally adjusted | ||||||
| thousands | change in thousands | % change | ||||
| Both sexes, 15 years and over | ||||||
| Population | 27,814.8 | 27,840.8 | 26.0 | 344.5 | 0.1 | 1.3 |
| Labour force | 18,557.8 | 18,664.2 | 106.4 | 248.9 | 0.6 | 1.4 |
| Employment | 17,145.3 | 17,214.5 | 69.2 | 327.3 | 0.4 | 1.9 |
| Full-time | 13,835.8 | 13,866.9 | 31.1 | 236.0 | 0.2 | 1.7 |
| Part-time | 3,309.6 | 3,347.6 | 38.0 | 91.3 | 1.1 | 2.8 |
| Unemployment | 1,412.5 | 1,449.6 | 37.1 | -78.6 | 2.6 | -5.1 |
| Participation rate | 66.7 | 67.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | … | … |
| Unemployment rate | 7.6 | 7.8 | 0.2 | -0.5 | … | … |
| Employment rate | 61.6 | 61.8 | 0.2 | 0.4 | … | … |
| Part-time rate | 19.3 | 19.4 | 0.1 | 0.1 | … | … |
| Youths, 15 to 24 years | ||||||
| Population | 4,460.0 | 4,459.3 | -0.7 | -0.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Labour force | 2,851.2 | 2,875.2 | 24.0 | -21.8 | 0.8 | -0.8 |
| Employment | 2,456.5 | 2,460.3 | 3.8 | 3.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| Full-time | 1,285.8 | 1,286.9 | 1.1 | -4.6 | 0.1 | -0.4 |
| Part-time | 1,170.7 | 1,173.4 | 2.7 | 7.9 | 0.2 | 0.7 |
| Unemployment | 394.7 | 414.9 | 20.2 | -25.2 | 5.1 | -5.7 |
| Participation rate | 63.9 | 64.5 | 0.6 | -0.5 | … | … |
| Unemployment rate | 13.8 | 14.4 | 0.6 | -0.8 | … | … |
| Employment rate | 55.1 | 55.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | … | … |
| Part-time rate | 47.7 | 47.7 | 0.0 | 0.3 | … | … |
| Men, 25 years and over | ||||||
| Population | 11,424.6 | 11,437.9 | 13.3 | 170.9 | 0.1 | 1.5 |
| Labour force | 8,343.2 | 8,352.3 | 9.1 | 149.9 | 0.1 | 1.8 |
| Employment | 7,781.2 | 7,791.2 | 10.0 | 229.6 | 0.1 | 3.0 |
| Full-time | 7,174.2 | 7,171.0 | -3.2 | 192.7 | 0.0 | 2.8 |
| Part-time | 607.0 | 620.2 | 13.2 | 36.8 | 2.2 | 6.3 |
| Unemployment | 562.0 | 561.0 | -1.0 | -79.8 | -0.2 | -12.5 |
| Participation rate | 73.0 | 73.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | … | … |
| Unemployment rate | 6.7 | 6.7 | 0.0 | -1.1 | … | … |
| Employment rate | 68.1 | 68.1 | 0.0 | 1.0 | … | … |
| Part-time rate | 7.8 | 8.0 | 0.2 | 0.3 | … | … |
| Women, 25 years and over | ||||||
| Population | 11,930.3 | 11,943.6 | 13.3 | 174.5 | 0.1 | 1.5 |
| Labour force | 7,363.4 | 7,436.7 | 73.3 | 120.8 | 1.0 | 1.7 |
| Employment | 6,907.6 | 6,963.0 | 55.4 | 94.4 | 0.8 | 1.4 |
| Full-time | 5,375.7 | 5,408.9 | 33.2 | 47.8 | 0.6 | 0.9 |
| Part-time | 1,531.9 | 1,554.1 | 22.2 | 46.6 | 1.4 | 3.1 |
| Unemployment | 455.8 | 473.7 | 17.9 | 26.4 | 3.9 | 5.9 |
| Participation rate | 61.7 | 62.3 | 0.6 | 0.1 | … | … |
| Unemployment rate | 6.2 | 6.4 | 0.2 | 0.3 | … | … |
| Employment rate | 57.9 | 58.3 | 0.4 | -0.1 | … | … |
| Part-time rate | 22.2 | 22.3 | 0.1 | 0.4 | … | … |
The employment rate being higher than previously is a good news indeed. But, unfortunately the unemployment rate getting higher than usual is also confusing. The good and the bad news as of now, according to me is a sign of improving economical condition of the country. Thus looking at the positive side, the employment rate getting higher will eventually depreciate the unemployment level too.
It appears under employed (part time) is leading the way. Not good news.