(Ottawa) The unemployment rate edged up in Quebec in December, to 4.6% (+ 0.1%), ending a year of complete catch-up for the labor market in 2021.
However, that was before the Omicron wave and the new restrictions that reduced economic activity in Quebec and several other provinces. Statistics Canada’s Labor Force Survey was conducted during the week of December 5 to 11.
The Canadian economy added 55,000 jobs during this period, and the unemployment rate stood at 5.9%, down slightly from the previous month (6%). This rate remains higher than before the pandemic, at 5.7% in February 2020.
The most jobs were created in Ontario last month. In Quebec, employment remained stable. Gains in full-time work were offset by declines in part-time work, Statistics Canada reports. At 4.6%, the unemployment rate in Quebec remains close to its pre-pandemic level.
The Quebec City metropolitan region has the lowest unemployment rate in Canada, at 2.6%. In Montreal, the unemployment rate fell from 5.8% in November to 5.3% in December.
In Quebec, it is especially in the construction sector that jobs have been created. Nationally, the increases were mainly attributable to the construction and educational services sectors.
Over the past 12 months, employment growth stood at 158,000 in Quebec (+ 3.8%), and 413,000 (+5.7) in Ontario.
Interestingly, the adjusted unemployment rate – which includes people who wanted a job but did not look for one – stood at 7.6%, and this indicator returned for the first time to the level observed before the pandemic.
Long-term unemployment, which has lasted for 27 weeks or more, fell for a second consecutive month in December.
Over the 12-month period ending December 2021, almost all provinces recorded employment growth, with the largest increases seen in Ontario (+413,000; + 5.7%), Quebec (+158,000; + 3.8%), Alberta (+130,000; + 6.0%) and British Columbia (+101,000; + 3.9%). The number of employed people also increased in Manitoba (+37,000; + 5.9%), Saskatchewan (+23,000; + 4.3%), Nova Scotia (+16,000; +3.4 %) and Prince Edward Island (+5,800; + 7.5%) in December 2021 compared to December 2020.