The country’s unemployment rate ticked down to 6.7 per cent in December, according to Statistics Canada.
New figures released on Friday show employment across the country rose by 91,000, mostly in full-time work.
Gains were led by educational services, transportation and warehousing, finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing, and health care and social assistance.
According to the monthly labour force survey, employment was up for men aged 25 and older as well as for women aged 55 and older. Employment was virtually unchanged for women aged 25 to 54, as well as youth aged 15 to 24.
The employment rate climbed by 0.2 percentage points to 60.8 per cent in December, marking the first increase since January 2023. It accounts for the proportion of the population aged 15 and older who are employed.
“Employment growth in recent months has occurred in the context of slowing population growth,” StatCan said in its monthly report. “According to the most recent official population estimates, the third quarter of 2024 saw the slowest quarterly population growth since the first quarter of 2022.”
Average hourly wages among employees increased 3.8 per cent, or $1.32, on a year-over-year basis in December to $35.77, which was the slowest growth since May 2022.
At look at some of the provincial numbers
New Brunswick lost 3,400 full-time position and gained 1,500 part-time jobs for an overall decrease of 1,800.
Combine that with an extra 2,100 people in the labour force, the unemployment rate increased nearly a full percentage point to 7.8 per cent.
Nova Scotia added 15,900 full-time jobs and lost 8,500 part-time positions for a net increase of 7,400.
However, the province’s unemployment rate ticked up slightly to 6.3 per cent with nearly 9,000 more people in the labour force.
Prince Edward Island lost 300 jobs as the unemployment rate jumped to 8.5 per cent from eight per cent the previous month.
In Ontario, the province gained 9,200 full-time and 14,200 part-time jobs for an overall increase of 23,400.
That helped to push the province’s unemployment rate down slightly to 7.5 per cent.
The full report can be found on Statistics Canada’s website.
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