Canadian Employment and Unemployment Levels Hold Steady in February

On Friday, Statistics Canada (StatCan) reported that employment held steady in February, up only 1,100 jobs. This follows three consecutive monthly increases that added 211,000 jobs (1.0%) in November, December, and January. Year-over-year, employment was up 1.9%, or 387,000 positions.

Employment increases were reported in the following sectors:

• The wholesale and retail trade added 51,000 jobs, up 1.7%.
• The finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing sector posted a 1.1% increase, or an additional 16,000 positions. February was the second increase in the last three months. Year-over-year, employment was up 4.3%, or 60,000 jobs.

Employment declines were reported in the following sectors:

• Professional, scientific and technical services fell 1.6%, a loss of 33,000 jobs. Employment growth in this industry has been subdued in recent months, following a strong upward trend from July 2023 to November.
• Transportation and warehousing was down 2.1%, or 23,000 jobs. This follows gains of 17,000 in December and 13,000 in January. Year-over-year, employment in the industry was down 2.6%, or 29,000 positions.

The unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.6%, following decreases in December (0.2 percentage points) and January (0.1 percentage points). The unemployment rate had previously trended up, rising from 5.0% in March 2023 to reach a recent high of 6.9% in November.