The Canadian labour market added 55k positions in December, and was well above the consensus call for a gain of 25k position. Full-time (+123k) employment drove the increase in December, while part-time (-68k) employment fell on the month.
Canada’s labour force (+23k) also expanded in December. Given the larger increase in employment, the unemployment rate edged down by 0.1 percentage points to 5.9% in December, and was within touching distance of the 5.7% recorded in February 2020.
By industry, employment growth was strong in the goods-producing sector (+44k) with the construction industry (+27k) doing the heavy lifting for the month. Meanwhile, services-producing employment was little changed (+11k), although, there was a sizeable increase in educational services employment (+17k) in December.
By province, employment was up in Ontario (+47k) and Saskatchewan (+6k), while all other provinces did not see much change last month. Notably, employment in B.C. was steady even as flooding impacted the southwest region of the province. Statistics Canada noted that by December, the province was already in reconstruction.
Lastly, total hours worked rose 0.3% month-on-month, continuing the string of advances seen since July 2021.
Key Implications
Despite the severe flooding in B.C., the Canadian labour market continued to see gains in December. The construction industry recorded its first employment increase since August, and this trend is likely to continue due to rebuilding efforts in southwestern B.C. Interestingly, the accommodation and food services industry saw a 4k decline in employment even with job vacancies at an elevated level, reflecting hiring difficulties in the sector.
It’s important to note that today’s release did not fully include the impact of Omicron-related public health restrictions as the labour force survey was taken during the week of December 5 to 11, and more stringent measures were imposed later on in the month. With daily caseloads rising at an incredible pace and provinces tightening the screws on mobility, January labour market figures are likely to be more downbeat. Hopefully, the impact of Omicron will be short-lived, allowing the labour market to recover quickly in coming months.
