Employment increased by 36,000 in August, but dropped by 26,000 in the manufacturing industry, offsetting the increase the previous month, according to Statistics Canada’s most recent Labour Force Survey. Overall, however, employment in manufacturing has been stable since July 2009.
Monthly gains in employment averaged 13,000 in July and August, compared with an average monthly increase of 51,000 during the first six months of the year.
Industries that saw employment gains in August include: educational services (up 68,000); professional, scientific and technical services (up 28,000); construction (up 12,000); and natural resources (up 9,000). These gains, however, were dampened by losses in manufacturing; business, building and other support services (down 19,000); and information, culture and recreation (down 18,000).
Quebec posted employment gains of 19,000 in August. In Saskatchewan, employment rose by 5,400 in August, while Newfoundland and Labrador saw gains of 3,600. Employment in Ontario was little changed in August – the unemployment rate was 8.8 percent, up 0.3 percentage points from the previous month.
