The number of unemployed people in Canada fell in September, according to a new report from Statistics Canada.
Last month, Canadians picked up 47,000 new jobs, driving the unemployment rate down from 6.6 per cent to 6.5 per cent.
These gains were not evenly distributed from sea to sea. The largest increases were seen in Ontario, which had 43,000 new hires. The second-largest rise was seen in Quebec, which ended the month with 22,000 additional employees.
In some other regions, the number of employed people actually declined. The most significant losses were seen in B.C., where 18,000 people were taken out of work.
In the year that ended on Sept. 30, about 321,000 jobs were created. Statistics Canada found 193,000 of these positions were in the private sector and 128,000 were in the public sector.
According to Cynthia Gordon, an employment services consultant at with Georgian’s Career and Employment Community Services in Barrie, Statistics Canada’s figures don’t paint a clear picture of the situation facing job seekers in Ontario. She says that, while the number of openings may be rising, her clients are spending more time out-of-work.
“These days, it is taking people a little bit longer to secure employment. But people are certainly getting jobs, and local ones, which is good.”
The report found the number of young people hired in September was far higher than the national average. Among Canadians aged between 15 and 24, the unemployment rate fell from 14.5 per cent in August to 13.5 per cent the next month.
According to Gordon, who works with Georgian students as well as with other members of the public, many young people in Barrie are still struggling to find work. “Anecdotally, it seems like people are employing fewer young people because the cost-of-living is going up. The sectors that drive youth employment, like retail, need the rest of us to have disposable incomes to spend.”
There is reason to believe disposable incomes are starting to grow. According to the report, nominal hourly wages grew from $34.01 to $35.59 on a year-over-year basis — a 4.6 per cent rise. Factoring in inflation, which dipped to 1.6 per cent last month, this equates to a 2.9 per cent increase real terms.
“My sense is that high-earners are skewing those results,” says Gordon, who estimates single adults need to earn about $25-per-hour in order to live comfortably in Barrie. “Most of the people I’ve successfully helped find jobs are getting about $20- to $22-per-hour.”
