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Canadians punch the clock in record numbers

TAVIA GRANT
Thursday, April 05, 2007
A record number of Canadians went to work last month as job creation hit a five-year high in the first quarter.

Employers created 54,900 jobs last month, Statistics Canada said Thursday, five times as many as forecast. The jobless rate, meantime, was unchanged at 6.1 per cent as more people looked for work.

Jobs numbers tend to be volatile, but the three-month trend shows growth at above 50,000 for the last three straight months. Droves of Canadians are now at work, particularly women, suggesting domestic demand will continue to drive economic growth.

Months of solid job gains “reinforces the view that the domestic economy will weather a further U.S. slowdown relatively well,” said Douglas Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. He expects the next move by the Bank of Canada will be to raise rates, not cut them.

Employers are adding to payrolls, but they're not raising wages by much. Average hourly earnings eased to a 2.1-per-cent rate from last March, as growth in the services sector — such as food and hotels — accounted for all of the gains.

Muted wage growth comes even as the employment rate reached 63.5 per cent in March — its highest level in at least 31 years. In Quebec, British Columbia and Manitoba, employment rates hit record levels.

Adult women are working more than ever. The employment rate for adult women reached a record 59 per cent in March, “as women continue to be the main beneficiaries of employment growth,” the report said.

Over the past year, employment growth for women has grown at more than twice the rate for men. Women over the age of 55 are also employed at record levels.

More than half of the new jobs last month were full time.

In March, the services side of the economy powered all the job growth, while the goods-producing side shed staff. Most of the new positions came in trade, accommodation and food services, along with information, culture and recreation. Most of those services jobs were in Ontario, Quebec and Alberta.

The goods-producing side of the economy cut 11,100 jobs. The natural resources, agricultural and construction sectors led the drop, while manufacturers added 1,400 positions.

Employers added about 158,000 people to payrolls in the first quarter of the year, led by gains in British Columbia, Alberta and New Brunswick.

Economists had expected 10,000 new jobs for March.