Jobs Lost In Dec, But Unemployment Rate Unchanged

Alberta posted the only significant employment gain in December (+21,000). This, however, was offset by declines in six provinces. Manufacturing experienced another drop in December (-33,000). Following a decline of 2.4% in 2006, employment in this industry was further reduced by an estimated 6.2% in 2007. All of the employment losses in December were among employees in the private sector, leaving gains for this group of workers up a tepid 0.4% over the course of the year. Gains for the year were mostly in the public sector and self-employment. Wages continued to rise in December, increasing to 4.9% from December 2006, exceeding the most recent increase in the Consumer Price Index of 2.5%. At $23.50, Alberta's average hourly wage stood well above that of other provinces, up 8.8% or close to two dollars from 12 months earlier, and far above that province's Consumer Price Index change of 4.7%. Canada's employment gains surpassed that of the United States Canada's employment growth of 2.2% in the past twelve months far surpassed that of the United States (+0.2%). Employment gains in the service-producing sector in the United States were hampered by continued losses in manufacturing as well as declines in construction and financial activities in 2007. ... http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/080111/d080111a.htm

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