Highlights
- A total of 4,200 jobs were created in the Quebec City census metropolitan area (CMA) from July to August, the highest gain in the province of Quebec and the second highest in Canada.
- The region reported a total of 439,600 jobs in August, or the same number as in February.
- The region is ranked #1 in Canada with an unemployment rate of 4.7%. The monthly increase in the active workforce (+1.3%) outpaced job gains (+1%), thus accounting for the slight uptick in unemployment last month (+0.4 points).
- In the province of Quebec, the number of jobs increased by 21,900 in August as unemployment edged up to 7.1% from 7% in July.
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Labour market in August
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Commentary
The labour market continues to gain strength in the Quebec City CMA. In August, the region added 4,200 jobs compared with July, for a total of 439,600 (and the third monthly increase in a row). Quebec City continued to make up some of the ground lost at the beginning of the year as the jobs numbers returned to their level in February 2016. The region was the #1 performer in Quebec and #2 in Canada last month, just behind Vancouver (+5,200 jobs). Although unemployment ticked upward due to the growth of active workforce, it remains the lowest in the country at 4.7%.
As seen in July, the hiring outlook continued to pick up in the services sector last month. In the construction industry, the demand for labour is stable, although it may gradually rise in the coming months due to the potential announcement of major projects. Manufacturing held steady above 30,000 jobs as the sector adjusts to the ups and downs of the global economy. It should be noted that August was conducive to the creation of full-time jobs, particularly among 25-to-54 year-olds. This age group continues to be in very high demand as unemployment and employment in this category stood at 3.8% and 89.4% in August (non-seasonally adjusted data).
Louis Gagnon
Senior Economist
Québec International
