Canada Global(Web News)Canada’s economy added 41,000 jobs in February, thanks to strong population growth that is driving job gains.
The federal agency’s labor force survey said the unemployment rate rose to 5.8 percent, matching the decline recorded in January. Job gains were spread across many industries in the service-producing sector, Alberta. And employment grew in Nova Scotia, but fell in Manitoba. Little changed in other provinces.
High interest rates are dragging down the economy, as consumers hold back on spending, slowing sales for businesses. But strong population growth appears to be offsetting some of those effects. “Today’s report is certainly impressive at first blush,” wrote Douglas Porter, chief economist at BMO. Strong job growth,” noting that the headline number was nearly double what economists had predicted.
“However, it is strikingly clear that the consequences of continued large-scale population growth are welcome, and thus the labor market is actually cooling gradually,” wrote Aporter, noting that while all employment gains are full-time. were in work, driven by an increase in public sector employment.Private sector employment fell by 16,000.
Women made up 47.3 percent of Canada’s workforce in February. The Labor Force Survey noted that the gender wage gap has narrowed in recent years but remains, with women in the prime age group (25 to 54) at the same level in February. The population earns $0.87 for every dollar earned by men. This gap is more pronounced in male-dominated sectors, such as manufacturing and utilities, and natural resources. The employment rate for prime-age women in Quebec (85 percent) , was highest in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia (both 82.5 per cent), higher than the national average of 81.4 per cent.