Statistics Canada reports that Canada’s jobless rate now stands at 6.4 per cent. That represents a 31–year low. And while I realize that’s cold comfort to some who have lost their jobs or who haver been laid off in the last few months, it is, for the broader Canadian economy, a very positive sign. In fact, in some regions of the country — notably in oil sands development area around Fort MacMurray, Alta. — there is a severe employee shortage. Statscan says the unemployment rate for Alberta is now 3.1 per cent and the labour shortage is pushing up salaries.
Still, there are some cracks in the veneer. Andrew Pyle of Scotia Capital notes that “full-time employment last month fell by 31,600 . . . and this will dampen any positive spin for incomes.” Mark Chandler, also of Scotia Capital, continues, saying, “full-time job growth in the past three months has been stagnant – rising just 8,300.”
Doug Porter, the Deputy Chief Economist at BMO Nesbitt Burns, says “the details of the release are not one-sided, hinting at further signs of moderation in wage growth and some softness in full-time jobs. On balance, though, the solid headline result, the drop in the jobless rate and the stemming of the pain in manufacturing put this one in the “good news” column.”