Summary
In 2018, the labour market reached a historical high of 452,600 jobs in the Québec City CMA, 9,800 jobs more than last year. This growth represents an annual increase of 2.2%, the second highest among the eight major Canadian CMAs. The labour force gained 8,500 individuals, exceeding the 470,000 threshold, a record high. Note that despite the downward trends observed at the end of the year in both employment and the labour force, the annual results remain positive. However, should these trends continue, they could have a significant impact on 2019 outlooks. The need for workers is still a real issue for businesses in the area, with the unemployment rate established at 3.8%. This historical threshold allowed Québec City to maintain its first rank among the major metropolitan areas in the country. Moreover, the historically high employment rate of 66.2% shows that the available pool of workers remains largely employed.