Statistics Canada has released the labour force report for March. The report is positive about job growth and we see the unemployment rate has decreased a tenth of a percent to 6.9%. The increase in employment is mainly among young Canadians aged 15-24 which is nice to see as there has been little positive to hear about youth employment throughout the recession. Overall, the report has a cautiously optimistic tone despite having very little good to report.
The good is that unemployment fell by 0.1% and there was a complementary increase in the employment rate from 61.6% to 61.7%. The job growth went primarily to the youth increasing the employment rate almost a full percent to 55.4%. Over 40% of the new jobs were full time. Unemployment among young Canadians remained unchanged at 13% indicating the number of youth looking for jobs increased, a hopeful sign.
The rest of the report made a valiant effort to make it appear otherwise but there is only bad news contained in the remainder of the report. Though the employment rate increased, the full time employment rate decreased. The majority of new jobs were part time, which while better than not working, is hardly something to celebrate. The unemployment rate among Canadians aged 25-54, the backbone of the labour force, fell 0.2% as approximately 25000 Canadians gave up looking for jobs. Among older Canadians, over the age of 55, the employment rate fell by 0.2%, approximately 19000 fewer people working, and the same number gave up looking for work.
The slight decrease in unemployment results both from the increased number of young Canadians that got jobs but also from the large number of Canadians over the age of 25 that became discouraged and left the labour force altogether. More work obviously needs to be done to ensure job growth. Governments should focus investment rather than cutting taxes and expecting the private sector to do the heavy lifting.
