Our friends from Stats Canada posted their Labour Force Survey for August 2013 on Friday and there was better news (than last month), but only partially:
Employment increased by 59,000 in August, mainly in part-time work, and the unemployment rate declined 0.1 percentage points to 7.1%. Over the six months to August, employment gains averaged 12,000 per month, lower than the average of 29,000 observed during the preceding six-month period.
More part-time jobs is better than no jobs, but it continues my worries about the “Lost Generation” of the 15-24 year olds who seem to have to have many part-time jobs to be able to live.
The graph shows more employment (but again, it is deceptive since we are not discerning between part and full-time).
Stats Can also points out that the “lost generation” while getting better summer chances, not as well as before the big recession:
The employment rate of returning students aged 15 to 24 was up slightly this summer compared with last summer, but still low compared with rates prior to the 2008/2009 labour market downturn.
The unemployment picture is good with the number going down, but again, that is due to part-time jobs:
The Big Table
The age picture for jobs is a bit better, but look at the full to part-time on this graphic. Not as rosy as we might hope:
Labour force characteristics by age and sex Seasonally adjusted
|
July 2013 |
August 2013 |
July to |
Aug 2012 |
July to |
Aug 2012 | |||
|
change in thousands (except rates) |
% change | |||||||
| Both sexes, 15 years and over | ||||||||
| Population |
28,695.4 |
28,724.6 |
29.2 |
361.7 |
0.1 |
1.3 | ||
| Labour force |
19,089.9 |
19,130.8 |
40.9 |
237.5 |
0.2 |
1.3 | ||
| Employment |
17,709.6 |
17,768.8 |
59.2 |
246.1 |
0.3 |
1.4 | ||
| Full-time |
14,381.0 |
14,398.4 |
17.4 |
175.6 |
0.1 |
1.2 | ||
| Part-time |
3,328.6 |
3,370.4 |
41.8 |
70.6 |
1.3 |
2.1 | ||
| Unemployment |
1,380.3 |
1,362.0 |
-18.3 |
-8.7 |
-1.3 |
-0.6 | ||
| Participation rate |
66.5 |
66.6 |
0.1 |
0.0 |
… |
… | ||
| Unemployment rate |
7.2 |
7.1 |
-0.1 |
-0.2 |
… |
… | ||
| Employment rate |
61.7 |
61.9 |
0.2 |
0.1 |
… |
… | ||
| Part-time rate |
18.8 |
19.0 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
… |
… | ||
| Youths, 15 to 24 years | ||||||||
| Population |
4,450.1 |
4,449.5 |
-0.6 |
-8.6 |
0.0 |
-0.2 | ||
| Labour force |
2,834.7 |
2,846.1 |
11.4 |
24.7 |
0.4 |
0.9 | ||
| Employment |
2,440.2 |
2,445.6 |
5.4 |
39.8 |
0.2 |
1.7 | ||
| Full-time |
1,270.9 |
1,263.4 |
-7.5 |
-5.9 |
-0.6 |
-0.5 | ||
| Part-time |
1,169.3 |
1,182.2 |
12.9 |
45.7 |
1.1 |
4.0 | ||
| Unemployment |
394.5 |
400.5 |
6.0 |
-15.1 |
1.5 |
-3.6 | ||
| Participation rate |
63.7 |
64.0 |
0.3 |
0.7 |
… |
… | ||
| Unemployment rate |
13.9 |
14.1 |
0.2 |
-0.6 |
… |
… | ||
| Employment rate |
54.8 |
55.0 |
0.2 |
1.0 |
… |
… | ||
| Part-time rate |
47.9 |
48.3 |
0.4 |
1.1 |
… |
… | ||
| Men, 25 years and over | ||||||||
| Population |
11,870.2 |
11,885.3 |
15.1 |
185.8 |
0.1 |
1.6 | ||
| Labour force |
8,604.1 |
8,615.1 |
11.0 |
97.7 |
0.1 |
1.1 | ||
| Employment |
8,068.7 |
8,084.4 |
15.7 |
99.1 |
0.2 |
1.2 | ||
| Full-time |
7,439.1 |
7,455.9 |
16.8 |
89.2 |
0.2 |
1.2 | ||
| Part-time |
629.6 |
628.5 |
-1.1 |
10.0 |
-0.2 |
1.6 | ||
| Unemployment |
535.4 |
530.8 |
-4.6 |
-1.3 |
-0.9 |
-0.2 | ||
| Participation rate |
72.5 |
72.5 |
0.0 |
-0.3 |
… |
… | ||
| Unemployment rate |
6.2 |
6.2 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
… |
… | ||
| Employment rate |
68.0 |
68.0 |
0.0 |
-0.3 |
… |
… | ||
| Part-time rate |
7.8 |
7.8 |
0.0 |
0.1 |
… |
… | ||
| Women, 25 years and over | ||||||||
| Population |
12,375.0 |
12,389.8 |
14.8 |
184.5 |
0.1 |
1.5 | ||
| Labour force |
7,651.2 |
7,669.6 |
18.4 |
115.1 |
0.2 |
1.5 | ||
| Employment |
7,200.8 |
7,238.8 |
38.0 |
107.2 |
0.5 |
1.5 | ||
| Full-time |
5,671.1 |
5,679.1 |
8.0 |
92.3 |
0.1 |
1.7 | ||
| Part-time |
1,529.7 |
1,559.7 |
30.0 |
14.9 |
2.0 |
1.0 | ||
| Unemployment |
450.4 |
430.8 |
-19.6 |
7.8 |
-4.4 |
1.8 | ||
| Participation rate |
61.8 |
61.9 |
0.1 |
0.0 |
… |
… | ||
| Unemployment rate |
5.9 |
5.6 |
-0.3 |
0.0 |
… |
… | ||
| Employment rate |
58.2 |
58.4 |
0.2 |
0.0 |
… |
… | ||
| Part-time rate |
21.2 |
21.5 |
0.3 |
-0.2 |
… |
… | ||
The 2013 Job Picture
- Less Jobs in January in Canada not a good start to 2013.
- More Jobs in February in Canada which is better than January.
- Job Picture Less Rosey in March for Canada 2013 seems to have had it’s ups and downs.
- Employment Hovers for April in Canada better than down.
- More Jobs for May in Canada never a bad thing.
- Employment Unchanged for June in Canada, swooning in the summer.
- 39000 Less Jobs in July in Canada ? Oh dear…
- More Part-time Jobs in Canada in August which isn’t a bad thing, but full-time would be better.
- More Working in September in Canada ? Good!
- Some More Jobs in Canada (but not a lot more) for October in 2013
- Better Job News in Canada for November ’tis the season.
- Ugly Job Numbers to End 2013 not the best way to end the year.
Watch the participation rate – it tells you if people are dropping out of the workforce.