BC gains jobs as national unemployment rate rises

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VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – British Columbia had Canada’s biggest job growth in September compared to a year earlier. Employment in BC rose 47,000 or 2.1 per cent from the previous September, according to Statistics Canada.

BC also posted strong job growth on a month-over-month basis. Statistics Canada says a seasonally adjusted 10,600 full-time jobs and 1,800 part-time positions were created for a total of 12,400. The provincial unemployment rate rose three tenths of a point to 6.3 per cent, as more people sought work.

The nationwide employment gain was a net 12,100 jobs, entirely due to a surge in part-time work as 61,900 full-time positions were lost. The unemployment rate rose a tenth of a point to 7.1 per cent because more Canadians looked for a job.

The number of part-time jobs increased by 74,000 in September.

The September jobs report was the last major piece of economic data before the federal election on Oct. 19.

The Bank of Canada has cut its key interest rate twice this year in a bid to help an economy which contracted in the first half of the year due in large part to the drop in oil prices.

BMO chief economist Doug Porter called it an odd jobs report.

“While no doubt it is significantly weaker than the decent headline result would suggest, it’s also probably not as bad as the steep drop in full-time jobs would indicate,” Porter said.

“The plunge in education employment looks plain weird, and is likely to partly reverse next month. Probably the single truest measure in this report is the slow upward grind in the unemployment rate.”

The biggest mover in the September national jobs report was the educational services sector which posted a loss of 51,000 jobs for the month, mostly in Ontario and Quebec.

Statistics Canada noted there have been a number of changes in the sector which could affect employment, including recent contract negotiations. The agency noted that before its seasonal adjustment the number of people working in the sector increased, but less than typically observed, resulting in the decline in the seasonally adjusted result.

The information, culture and recreation sector added 33,000 jobs last month, while the “other services” group added 22,000 jobs.

The number of self-employed increased by 31,000 in September, while public sector employment fell 29,000. The number of private sector employees climbed by 10,000.

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