The numbers break down to 37,000 new part-time jobs and about 8,000 new full-time jobs created during the month, reports CBC Canada, with Quebec and British Columbia posting the majority of them.
Most economists are saying that the quarter ending in June was one of Canada’s best quarters since 2010. In the past year, 351,000 jobs were added in all but two of the 12 months, with most of them being full-time. But as Vice Money asks, Why are so many Canadians still struggling to find jobs?
The economists say that based on seasonal adjustments, Canada actually added 400,000 jobs over the last year, the best growth seen since 1979. “It’s absurdly strong,” Scotiabank economist Derek Holt noted, “and the Bank of Canada’s recent business outlook survey has CEOs saying they expect to continue hiring at a decent pace over the coming year.”
And with the unemployment rate dropping from 6.6 to 6.5 percent in June after hitting a high of 7.0 percent in mid-2016, the Bank of Canada is still not changing its plan to issue a rate hike sometime in the coming weeks, the first one in seven years. CIBC economist Avery Shenfeld said the numbers will not affect the central bank’s decision.
“Today’s jobs numbers cement the case for the central bankers to raise rates in the coming week,” he said, noting that economists are saying that Canada’s job market is close to reaching full employment, meaning that just about every adult who wants a job and is able to work will be employed.
So why are so many people still looking fir jobs?
You need to look at the breakdown of the job gains in June. The private sector added 17,800 new jobs, with most of them being low-paying, part-time service sector jobs. Actually, 37,000 of the new jobs added in June were part-time employees. This means that 8,100 new full-time jobs were added to the economy.
And if you were to look closely, you would find that most of the job gains since October 2016 have been based on the availability of part-time work, coupled with a decline in the number of full-time positions.
“June’s job gains were widely spread across goods and services, split evenly between paid jobs and self-employment, with the only disappointment being a leaning to part-time jobs, although full-time jobs are still up a heady 1.7 percent in the past year,” Shenfeld said, reports the Globe and Mail.
