Economy Created 422,500 Jobs in Canada During 2017

Data released by Statistics Canada in January 2018 revealed that the economy created 422,500 new jobs in Canada during 2017, which brought the country’s unemployment rate down to just 5.7 percent (the lowest it has been since at least 1976).

Of the 422,500 new Canadian jobs filled last year, 394,200 were full-time positions, while only 28,300 of the new jobs in Canada were part-time positions.

There were 290,300 workers hired for service sector jobs in Canada during 2017, plus 132,100 people found Canadian employment in the goods-producing industry and 85,700 new jobs in Canada were filled in the manufacturing sector.

The Canadian employment picture also improved significantly in the oil-rich province of Alberta, which had been one of the top provinces for the creation of new jobs in Canada until global oil prices plunged a couple years ago (the oil and gas industry has been a major contributor to Alberta’s economy).

For example, Alberta accounted for around 26,000 of the 78,600 new jobs in Canada that were created in December 2017 and it is hoped that rising oil prices will continue to translate into the generation of more jobs in Alberta.

Even as the drop in oil process reduced the number of jobs in Canada produced in Alberta and neighboring Saskatchewan, the economy adjusted by creating more Canadian jobs in manufacturing, technology and construction, which boosted Canadian employment in places like British Columbia, Quebec and Ontario.

Thus, it is no coincidence that British Columbia boasted a 4.6% unemployment rate in December 2017 (the lowest of any Canadian province), while the unemployment rate in Quebec was an impressive 4.9 percent, in Ontario it stood at a healthy 5.5 percent and was just 5.7 percent in Manitoba.

Information provided by Statistics Canada also showed several Canadian cities in various provinces had low unemployment rates in December 2017, including: Victoria (3.4 percent) and Vancouver (4.1 percent) in British Columbia; Regina (4.7 percent) in Saskatchewan; Winnipeg (5.6 percent) in Manitoba; Hamilton (4.6 percent), Brantford 4.7 percent, Ottawa (5.7 percent) and Toronto (6.0%) in Ontario; Quebec City (3.9 percent),  Trois-Rivieres (4.5 percent), Gatineau (5.0 percent), Sherbrooke (5.9 percent) and Montreal (6.1 percent) in Quebec;  and Moncton (5.7 percent) and Saint John (6.1 percent) in New Brunswick.

In Victoria, the provincial capital of British Columbia, the city’s extremely low unemployment rate of 3.4% is a “double-edged sword” for the local economy, since most Canadians who want a job there are already employed, but the tight labor market in Victoria is also making it challenging for employers to hire enough qualified workers.

Consequently, one of the ways that employers in Victoria hope to meet their growing labor demands is by hiring more skilled foreign workers.

The Canadian employment scene looks encouraging entering into 2018 and skilled foreign workers who want to find jobs in Canada should have plenty of great opportunities waiting for them.

To learn if you and your family qualify to live and work in Canada, click here!