Labour Market Trends

Job losses in manufacturing and health care keep employment flat again in May.

Canadian Labour Market

After a solid performance in the last few months of 2017, Canada’s job market has completely stalled, as in May the economy once again failed to create any net new jobs. All told, there were 7,500 fewer positions last month compared to April. While that total represents a negligible decline compared to the 18.6 million jobs across the country, it marks the second consecutive month of no employment growth and there remain 48,900 fewer jobs available today compared to December.

Flat employment in May meant that the jobless rate across Canada also remained unchanged for the fourth month in a row at 5.8 per cent. The unemployment rate continues to sit at historic lows not because of robust labour demand, but because an aging population is dragging down growth on the supply side. Over the last two years, total employment has risen by 3.1 per cent, but the labour force itself has only increased by 1.9 per cent.

In April, the silver lining to the flat jobs numbers was the fact that a significant number of part-time jobs were converted to full-time positions. In May, however, the opposite was true. There were 31,000 fewer full-time jobs in Canada last month, offset by 23,600 net new part-time positions.

Across the country, job growth was mixed in May. Most of the weakness that month can be pinned on the loss of 12,400 jobs in BC (a 0.5 per cent decline) as employment growth in that province continues its recent struggles. BC had been one of Canada’s strongest job creators through 2016 and 2017, but employment has fallen in four of the last five months, shedding 21,900 jobs since December. Employment was also down sharply in Nova Scotia, where the loss of 3,600 positions was the second largest decline of any province in Canada (a 0.8 per cent decrease compared to April). There were also fewer jobs in Manitoba (1,100) and Saskatchewan (2,100) in May.

On the positive side, employment in Quebec rebounded in May, adding 4,700 new jobs and gaining back about a third of the province’s job losses in April. Alberta also saw employment rise in May (2,900 jobs), regaining losses in the previous month. Aside from Nova Scotia, there were also solid gains across Atlantic Canada last month. In Ontario, there were just 1,000 net new jobs created in May, which is akin to zero change in a province where 7.2 million people are employed.

At the industry level, there were relatively wide swings in employment (both to the positive and negative) in several sectors. Leading the way on the positive side was the addition of 17,600 net new jobs in accommodation and food services industries, as well as 17,000 jobs in professional, scientific and technical services. In the case of hospitality industries, employment has dramatically spiked since March, while in the professional services category, the increase represents the continued recovery of jobs lost in the second half of 2017.