Canadian Labour Force Survey, August 2010 Results

Date: September 10, 2010

Canadian Labour Force Survey, August 2010 Results

Source: Statistics Canada

Link to Release: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/100910/dq100910a-eng.htm

Summary: The Canadian economy added 36,000 positions in August following declines in July. Gains in full-time jobs (+80,000) offset a 44,000 position decline in part-time employment. Job gains were concentrated in the services sector, which added 43,900 positions. The goods producing segment of the economy shed 8,200 jobs last month. The national unemployment rate edged up to 8.1 per cent, as job growth was outstripped by growth in the labour force as a whole. The GTA labour market experienced an increase in the level of employment and a slight decrease in the unemployment rate.

Analysis: Employment in Canada has climbed back to the pre-recession peak. This is also the case in the GTA. Employment levels in both the services and goods producing sectors are well-above the levels reported in August 2009. The steady recovery experienced after July of last year was in line with the overall recovery in the economy. However, while the level of employment has recovered, we have not seen a marked recovery in the unemployment rate because the growth in the total labour force (employed and unemployed persons actively searching for work) continued to grow during the recession. In the GTA, for example, the pre-recession unemployment rate ranged between 6.5 and 7.0 per cent. In contrast, GTA unemployment rate stood at 9.1 per cent – an improvement from a high of 10 per cent during the recession, but a long way from what could be called normal. The implication is that with quite a bit of slack remaining in the labour market, income growth will likely remain at or below the rate of inflation through 2011.

Source: Toronto Real Estate Board

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