Highlights
- From October 2021 to October 2022, the number of full-time jobs increased, while part-time jobs dropped (non-seasonally adjusted data) in the Québec City census metropolitan area (CMA).
- The Québec City region maintains the lowest unemployment rate among major Canadian CMAs, despite a slight increase this month (+0.2 percentage points).
- For the second month in a row, employment dropped slightly in the Québec City CMA, with a loss of 1,200 jobs from September to October 2022 (-0.3%). However, year-over-year, the market size remained stable (-0.1%).
- The participation rate reached 65.7% in the Québec City CMA, a lower rate than in October 2021 (66.7%).
- Comparable data also show that employment grew moderately in October 2022 in the province of Quebec (+0.4%) and Canada (+0.2%), with unemployment rates of 4.3% and 5.3%, respectively.
Charts
Source: Statistics Canada. Table 14-10-0380-01
Cautionary Note
The available data for the Québec City CMA was given special statistical treatment (three-month moving average) due to the small sample size, which has the effect of mitigating the large fluctuations in the data. Thus, data collected in August and September affects the estimations published for October. Please also note that we use comparable data for the province of Quebec and the other CMAs in this document.
Commentary
A stable market year-over-year
In October, the Québec City region registered a slight drop of 1,200 jobs (-0.3%) for the second month in a row. In total, Statistics Canada estimated that the labour market had 442,900 jobs and a labour force of 456,000 people. Compared to October 2021, the employment market size remained stable (-0.1%), with a total of 443,300 jobs, while the labour force shrank 0.8% from 459,900 workers the previous year.
The unemployment rate remains low
The unemployment rate went from 2.7% in September to 2.9% in October 2022. However, the region maintained the lowest unemployment rate among major Canadian CMAs. The participation rate reached 65.7%, a lower rate than at the same time last year (66.7%).
A better quality of employment?
From October 2021 to 2022, full-time employment and wages both improved in the Québec City CMA labour market. The increase in full-time employment compensated for the drop in part-time jobs (non-seasonally adjusted data). Over the same period, data on the average hourly wage in the province of Quebec show that the compensation offered increased (+5.6%) for all categories of workers and in most industries.
Émile Émond
Economist
Québec International
