Rate dips to 7.5 per cent for June, but new study claims positive numbers exaggerate the real health of the Canadian labour market
The unemployment rate dipped 0.2 per cent last month to 7.5 per cent, as 66,000 new jobs were created in June according to Statistics Canada. But a new report is casting a shadow on the positive numbers.
Nearly all of the new jobs created last month are full-time, with the bulk of them added to the manufacturing sector. But Benjamin Tal, a senior economist with CIBC World Markets, said the quality of a lot of the new jobs created over the last year leave a bit to be desired.
Of the 142,000 full-time positions created over the past year, few of them were high-quality, high-paying jobs, he said.
“More than three-quarters of these were below-average wage jobs,” he said. “This goes a long way to explain why despite the growth in employment in the first quarter of this year, real labour income rose by a disappointing annualized rate of only 1.9 per cent.”
Not only are the new jobs low-paying, but they don’t offer much stability for employees either. Tal’s research shows that nearly two-thirds of all full-time jobs created during the past year were not likely to last for more than six months.
“A low quality job is better than no job, but the headline employment figures exaggerate the real health of the Canadian labour market,” he said.
Still, there is some positive news in the latest Labour Force Survey from Statistics Canada, particular for the manufacturing sector.
The number of jobs in manufacturing has returned to the peak reached in December 2000, as employment has risen 113,000 since the start of 2002.
About 30,000 of the new jobs created in June were in the manufacturing sector, with transportation equipment manufacturing and food manufacturing posting the largest gains.
Provincial unemployment rates for June
•Manitoba: 4.9%
•Saskatchewan: 5.3%
•Alberta: 5.6 %
•Ontario: 7.1%
•British Columbia: 8.7%
•Quebec: 8.2%
•Nova Scotia: 9.4%
•New Brunswick: 9.6%
•Prince Edward Island: 12.1%
•Newfoundland and Labrador: 15.7%
Nearly all of the new jobs created last month are full-time, with the bulk of them added to the manufacturing sector. But Benjamin Tal, a senior economist with CIBC World Markets, said the quality of a lot of the new jobs created over the last year leave a bit to be desired.
Of the 142,000 full-time positions created over the past year, few of them were high-quality, high-paying jobs, he said.
“More than three-quarters of these were below-average wage jobs,” he said. “This goes a long way to explain why despite the growth in employment in the first quarter of this year, real labour income rose by a disappointing annualized rate of only 1.9 per cent.”
Not only are the new jobs low-paying, but they don’t offer much stability for employees either. Tal’s research shows that nearly two-thirds of all full-time jobs created during the past year were not likely to last for more than six months.
“A low quality job is better than no job, but the headline employment figures exaggerate the real health of the Canadian labour market,” he said.
Still, there is some positive news in the latest Labour Force Survey from Statistics Canada, particular for the manufacturing sector.
The number of jobs in manufacturing has returned to the peak reached in December 2000, as employment has risen 113,000 since the start of 2002.
About 30,000 of the new jobs created in June were in the manufacturing sector, with transportation equipment manufacturing and food manufacturing posting the largest gains.
Provincial unemployment rates for June
•Manitoba: 4.9%
•Saskatchewan: 5.3%
•Alberta: 5.6 %
•Ontario: 7.1%
•British Columbia: 8.7%
•Quebec: 8.2%
•Nova Scotia: 9.4%
•New Brunswick: 9.6%
•Prince Edward Island: 12.1%
•Newfoundland and Labrador: 15.7%
