Employment edged up by an estimated 23,000 in August

Employment edged up by an estimated 23,000 in August. The national unemployment rate remained unchanged at its 33-year low of 6.0%, as more people entered the labour force in search of work.

The added employment in August brought overall gains for the first eight months of the year to an estimated 232,000 or 1.4%, slightly higher than the growth observed over the same period last year (+1.2%).

Older workers, particularly women, experienced strong employment growth in August, bringing total gains for the 55 and over age group to 4.6% since the start of the year.

Employment gains in the goods sector in August came primarily from construction. This industry continued to be one of the strongest sources of employment growth in 2007, up 5.8% so far this year.

Strength in student employment continued in August, particularly for those aged 15 to 19. The average employment rate for students aged 15 to 24 this summer was the highest since 1991.

Construction employment continues to rise

Construction employment grew by 16,000 in August, with employment growth of 63,000 since the start of the year (+5.8%). Employment in the utilities industry grew by 3,900 in August. Since December 2006, employment in this relatively small industry has risen 20.1% (+25,000). Employment in manufacturing was unchanged in August following modest gains in July.

Employment in educational services jumped by an estimated 33,000 in August, partially offsetting last month's decline. Most of the increase was in Ontario's primary and secondary education sector.

Transportation and warehousing employment fell by an estimated 31,000 in August with losses evenly divided between the two industries. Despite this decline, employment in transportation and warehousing remained unchanged from a year ago.

In August, employment increased by 15,000 in both business, building and other support services, and in health care and social assistance. Employment in business, building and other support services was down 1.1% from the beginning of the year, while that in health care and social assistance was up 1.4%.

Employment in professional, scientific and technical services declined by an estimated 14,000 in August. Most of the August employment losses in this industry were equally shared by Ontario and British Columbia. Growth in this industry, however, was up 4.7% since December 2006.

In August, public-sector employment grew by an estimated 44,000, with gains of 2.6% since the start of the year. The growth in August was strongly influenced by the employment increases in the educational services and health care and social assistance industries. The number of private-sector employees has shown little growth so far this year (+0.3%). Despite a small decline in self-employment in August, growth among this group was up 4.5% since last December.

Employment booming for older workers

In August, almost all of the employment growth for adult men and women came from those aged 55 and over. An estimated 34,000 older workers found employment in August. Since the beginning of this year, employment among the 55 and over age group has increased by 4.6%, the fastest pace of all age groups, with stronger growth for women (+5.5%) than men (+3.9%). The August employment rate for older men was its highest since 1985; the rate for older women was near the all-time high set in April of this year.

The increase in employment in August was largely driven by full-time growth for adult men (+22,000) and part-time gains for adult women (+30,000). The employment rate for adult women reached 59.0%, just shy of the record high set in April 2007.

Employment gains in Newfoundland and Labrador

The number of employed Newfoundland and Labrador residents grew by 3,000 in August, its largest month-to-month increase in 18 months. While their employment rate rose by 0.8 percentage points in August to 51.3%, it stands at the same level as it was in December 2006. Virtually all of the August employment gains were in full-time positions for adult men.

Ontario's overall employment picture showed little growth in August. Gains in a number of service industries were somewhat dampened by a large decline in transportation and warehousing. Employment in the province's goods sector fell by 20,000 in August, about half of which was in manufacturing. At the same time, the unemployment rate edged down by 0.2 percentage points to 6.4%. So far this year, employment in the province has risen 0.7%, half the national growth rate.

Overall employment was little changed in Quebec in August, with gains in the goods sector offset by losses in the services sector. The unemployment rate remained near its 33-year low, and the employment rate remained at its record high of 61.1%.

There was little change in overall labour market estimates for British Columbia in August. However, there were a number of ongoing labour disputes in the province, including members of unions in 31 coastal forestry companies and municipal workers in Vancouver. Workers on strike or locked out are considered employed according to Labour Force Survey definitions. The number of hours lost from work due to labour disputes in British Columbia was substantial. During the week of August 12th, an estimated 14,000 employees were not at work because of labour disputes, resulting in a loss of about 517,000 hours or 37.4 hours per affected employee.

Wage growth continues in August

August marked the fourth consecutive month with a year-over-year average hourly wage increase above 3%. Employees, on average, made 4.0% more per hour in August than they did in August 2006, exceeding the most recent year-over-year Consumer Price Index increase of 2.2%.

Student summer labour market hottest since the early 90s

From May to August, the Labour Force Survey collects labour market information about young people aged 15 to 24 who were attending school full time in March and intend to return to school in the fall. The published estimates are not seasonally adjusted, therefore, comparisons can only be made on a year-over-year basis.

Favourable labour market conditions allowed students to experience their best summer job market in more than 15 years. The average employment rate for students this summer (from May to August) was 54.6%, the highest since 1991. At the same time, the average unemployment rate was 12.9%, the lowest since the summer of 1990.

Note: The Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates are based on a sample, and are therefore subject to sampling variability. Estimates for smaller geographic areas or industries will have more variability. For an explanation of sampling variability of estimates, and how to use standard errors to assess this variability, consult the "Data quality" section of the publication Labour Force Information (71-001-XWE, free).

Available on CANSIM: tables 282-0001 to 282-0042, 282-0047 to 282-0064 and 282-0069 to 282-0099.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 3701.

Available at 7:00 a.m. online under The Daily module of our website.

A more detailed summary, Labour Force Information (71-001-XWE, free) is now available online for the week ending August 18. From the Publications module of our website, under Free Internet publications, choose Labour. LAN and bulk prices are available on request. The CD-ROM Labour Force Historical Review, 2006 (71F0004XCB, $209) is now available.

Data tables are also now available online. From the By Subject module of our website, choose Labour.

The next release of the Labour Force Survey will be on October 5.

For general information or to order data, contact Client Services (toll-free               1-866-873-8788       ;               613-951-4090       ; labour@statcan.ca). To enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Vincent Ferrao (              613-951-4750       ) or Jason Gilmore (              613-951-7118       ), Labour Statistics Division.