Employment in Quebec was little changed in April, with the unemployment rate standing at 4.1%, slightly above its record low of 3.9%, recorded in January 2023 and November 2022.
Thus, employment varied by 0.2% between the months of March and April. There are 3.7 million full-time jobs (+100) and 822,000 part-time jobs (+10,600).
It is in the census metropolitan area (CMA) of Quebec that the unemployment rate is at its lowest (1.7%). Moreover, it stands at 4.6% in the Montréal CMA. It should be noted that employment remained stable in the province’s two metropolises.
However, these figures are not as encouraging as they seem, because they do not take into account “the most significant labor market events of the month”, estimated Randall Bartlett, senior director, Canadian economy at Desjardins.
Because the Labor Force Survey (EPA) would have been held from April 9 to 15, exactly between two major events in April.
“The data collected does not take into account the April 5 ice storm that caused power outages in Eastern Ontario and much of Quebec. They also ignore the strike of federal civil servants which began on April 19 and ended on May 1, ”he said in particular.
Portraiture in Canada
In Canada, employment saw a slight increase (+41,000; +0.2%) and the unemployment rate stood at 5%, a figure unchanged since December 2022.
The increase in employment in the country is attributable to part-time work, observed Statistics Canada.
Thus, part-time jobs increased by 48,000 (+1.3%) while full-time jobs remained stable. “Among those working part-time, 15.2% did so involuntarily, which means they would have preferred to work full-time,” the federal agency explained.
“[Ces résultats donnent] to think that the pace of full-time hiring could slow down,” Bartlett said.
According to Statistics Canada, employment remained stable among women aged 25 and over while it increased by 18,000 (+0.3%) among men of the core working age (25 to 54 years old). and 16,000 (0.7%) among those aged 55 and over. When looking at the numbers for the youngest, there is little variation over the past month.
In April, employment rose in several sectors, including wholesale and retail trade (+24,000; +0.8%), transportation and warehousing (+17,000; +1.6%), information, culture and leisure (+16,000; +1.9%) and educational services (+15,000; +1.0%). However, employment fell in business services, building services and other support services (-14,000; -1.9%), it was however specified.