Nothing New on Jobs Front
Stats Canada published their Labor Force survery for December 2009 on Friday, and it seemed to suggest not much changed in December after a surge in November. This is to be expected with most firms slowing down for the holidays, so the data really only reflect a 2/3 of a month snapshot (if someone got hired between Christmas and New Years I would be very surprised (but it would be a nice present too)).
In the last nine months, employment has stabilized but remains 323,000 (-1.9%) below the October 2008 peak.
Very interesting statement, but given we are only “recovering” not attempting to get back to record highs, it is a slow and steady slope.
At least the graph does not show a slope down.
Unemployment Flat Too
The good thing is that this month’s data also shows that unemployment is stable as well, although seeing it drop would be another good sign of the “recovery” gaining momentum.
Following a large increase in November, employment was unchanged in December and the unemployment rate remained at 8.5%.
Another Big Table
This is the big table of Labour Force Characteristics by Age and Sex
| Nov 2009 | Dec 2009 | Nov to Dec 2009 | Dec 2008 to Dec 2009 | Nov to Dec 2009 | Dec 2008 to Dec 2009 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seasonally adjusted | ||||||
| thousands | change in thousands | % change | ||||
| Both sexes, 15 years and over | ||||||
| Population | 27,463.3 | 27,490.7 | 27.4 | 392.0 | 0.1 | 1.4 |
| Labour force | 18,448.0 | 18,439.1 | -8.9 | 117.9 | 0.0 | 0.6 |
| Employment | 16,873.9 | 16,871.3 | -2.6 | -239.7 | 0.0 | -1.4 |
| Full-time | 13,664.7 | 13,662.3 | -2.4 | -259.4 | 0.0 | -1.9 |
| Part-time | 3,209.1 | 3,208.9 | -0.2 | 19.6 | 0.0 | 0.6 |
| Unemployment | 1,574.2 | 1,567.8 | -6.4 | 357.7 | -0.4 | 29.6 |
| Participation rate | 67.2 | 67.1 | -0.1 | -0.5 | … | … |
| Unemployment rate | 8.5 | 8.5 | 0.0 | 1.9 | … | … |
| Employment rate | 61.4 | 61.4 | 0.0 | -1.7 | … | … |
| Part-time rate | 19.0 | 19.0 | 0.0 | 0.4 | … | … |
| Youths, 15 to 24 years | ||||||
| Population | 4,399.9 | 4,400.3 | 0.4 | 15.9 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
| Labour force | 2,831.3 | 2,848.2 | 16.9 | -82.3 | 0.6 | -2.8 |
| Employment | 2,381.7 | 2,389.8 | 8.1 | -164.1 | 0.3 | -6.4 |
| Full-time | 1,267.9 | 1,270.5 | 2.6 | -120.4 | 0.2 | -8.7 |
| Part-time | 1,113.7 | 1,119.3 | 5.6 | -43.7 | 0.5 | -3.8 |
| Unemployment | 449.6 | 458.4 | 8.8 | 81.7 | 2.0 | 21.7 |
| Participation rate | 64.3 | 64.7 | 0.4 | -2.1 | … | … |
| Unemployment rate | 15.9 | 16.1 | 0.2 | 3.2 | … | … |
| Employment rate | 54.1 | 54.3 | 0.2 | -3.9 | … | … |
| Part-time rate | 46.8 | 46.8 | 0.0 | 1.3 | … | … |
| Men, 25 years and over | ||||||
| Population | 11,280.4 | 11,293.8 | 13.4 | 191.1 | 0.1 | 1.7 |
| Labour force | 8,250.5 | 8,259.1 | 8.6 | 86.4 | 0.1 | 1.1 |
| Employment | 7,582.7 | 7,592.6 | 9.9 | -106.7 | 0.1 | -1.4 |
| Full-time | 6,981.3 | 6,989.7 | 8.4 | -169.2 | 0.1 | -2.4 |
| Part-time | 601.3 | 602.9 | 1.6 | 62.5 | 0.3 | 11.6 |
| Unemployment | 667.9 | 666.5 | -1.4 | 193.1 | -0.2 | 40.8 |
| Participation rate | 73.1 | 73.1 | 0.0 | -0.5 | … | … |
| Unemployment rate | 8.1 | 8.1 | 0.0 | 2.3 | … | … |
| Employment rate | 67.2 | 67.2 | 0.0 | -2.1 | … | … |
| Part-time rate | 7.9 | 7.9 | 0.0 | 0.9 | … | … |
| Women, 25 years and over | ||||||
| Population | 11,783.0 | 11,796.6 | 13.6 | 185.0 | 0.1 | 1.6 |
| Labour force | 7,366.2 | 7,331.8 | -34.4 | 113.9 | -0.5 | 1.6 |
| Employment | 6,909.5 | 6,888.9 | -20.6 | 31.1 | -0.3 | 0.5 |
| Full-time | 5,415.5 | 5,402.1 | -13.4 | 30.2 | -0.2 | 0.6 |
| Part-time | 1,494.0 | 1,486.7 | -7.3 | 0.8 | -0.5 | 0.1 |
| Unemployment | 456.7 | 442.9 | -13.8 | 82.9 | -3.0 | 23.0 |
| Participation rate | 62.5 | 62.2 | -0.3 | 0.0 | … | … |
| Unemployment rate | 6.2 | 6.0 | -0.2 | 1.0 | … | … |
| Employment rate | 58.6 | 58.4 | -0.2 | -0.7 | … | … |
| Part-time rate | 21.6 | 21.6 | 0.0 | -0.1 | … | … |
Previous Months Unemployment for 2009
- Unemployment Up Sharply to 7.2% in January 2009 the impact of the great meltdown was starting to settle in.
- Bad Unemployment and No Pensions for February 2009 things were very not good back then.
- Unemployment Up Again to 8.0% March 2009 not too surprising really. March was still deep in the heart of the meltdown.
- Unemployment Up a Bit for April 2009 so these are the actual Unemployed count from Stats Canada
- More Folks on EI in April 2009 – a sad time still
- Unemployment Numbers up a Little – The numbers for June 2009
- For July 2009 Unemployment Rate Hovers – is this a plateau? Hard to tell.
- Better Employment Numbers September 2009 – shows that life started to get better as 2009 went on. We hoped.
- Less Employed in October 2009 8.6% Unemployed – OK so our hopes were dashed for a while.
- November 2009 Employment Numbers: A Festivus Miracle! a month early for Festivus, but good news, is good news.
- Nothing New on Jobs Front for December 2009 the year did not end with a bang unfortunately.
