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Canada Employment Numbers, July-August 2014

As most of Canada enjoys a provincial holiday long weekend, we all take a needed break from a very hot summer and hopefully look forward to another hot month for employment in Canada.
Statistics Canada has just reported that the country has seen a 2.6 percent increase in wages over the last year and that the number of hours being worked has increased, slightly.

More jobs to come?

This points to an increase in the number of jobs we may see in August and September 2014, as well as a good overall picture for employment. Weekly earnings and the number of hours worked per week have increased consistently for the last 6 months. This means that people have more money to spend and employers are likely busier, two factors that will drive the economy and, as a result, hiring.
Combine this with the US economy, which has seen over 200,000 jobs added consistently for the past 6 months, and Canada could break out of its job creation slump.

Industries to watch

Construction was booming last month with 31,800 jobs added in June, so we hope this will continue, but we will likely need Manufacturing and Business, Building and Support Services to turn things around after a disappointing June. We expect the Natural Resources Sector, Forestry, Mining and Oil & Gas sector to stay fairly neutral until at least September.
Throughout the summer, we have continued to see lots of request for Industrial Management, Electricians and Millwrights, but supply for the number of candidates available continues to be a difficulty for employers across the country.

Trades apprenticeships to the Rescue

Thankfully, colleges are ramping up for September trades training. There will be thousands of trades apprenticeship spots opening in British Columbia, and possibly in other provinces as well.
Hopefully, we will see unemployment dropping in Canada. We can enjoy the rest of summer, looking forward to a great September and October hiring season.
 
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/140731/longdesc-cg140731b001-eng.htm

Statistics Canada May 2014 year-over-year earnings and hours increases by percentages Change in average weekly earnings Change in average weekly hour
December 2013 2.4 0.3
January 2014 2.7 0.0
February 2014 2.5 0.6
March 2014 2.6 0.3
April 2014 3.2 0.3
May 2014 2.6 0.0

 
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/140711/t140711a002-eng.htm#t002Note_3
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/02/business/jobs-numbers-for-july-released-by-labor-department.html?_r=0
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/140731/dq140731b-eng.htm
 

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