Quebec has the lowest unemployment rate in Canada

The unemployment rate fell in September to reach 6.5% in Canada and Quebec once again became the province with the lowest unemployment rate in Canada, at 5.5%. in Quebec.

Employment was up 47,000 nationwide in September, twice as high as most economists had expected.

The 0.1% drop in the unemployment rate is the first since January. It should not prevent the Bank of Canada from continuing to lower its key rate, estimates economist Claire Fan of the Royal Bank, who is counting on a 50 point drop in the key rate during the bank’s next announcement. central, in two weeks.

The net increase in the number of jobs in September is concentrated in three sectors, according to Statistics Canada: information, culture and recreation, wholesale and retail trade and the professional services sector. Three provinces posted a positive employment report in September: Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba.

In Quebec, employment increased by 22,000, and mainly full-time jobs were added. At 5.5%, the Quebec unemployment rate is up 1% over the past year. The outlook is positive for Quebec, analyzes Florence Jean-Jacobs, senior economist at Desjardins. “It is probably too early to say beyond any doubt that the Quebec labor market is out of its slump,” she believes, “but the recovery in Quebec’s GDP in the first and second quarters suggests that the economic outlook are positive.

The unemployment rate has fallen among young people, but remains high at 13.5% in this age group.

The average hourly wage continues to increase, but at a more moderate pace, Statistics Canada also reports. It was up 4.6% in September compared to the previous year, after increasing 5% in August. In Quebec, the increase in the average salary started to rise again, with an increase of 5.1% in September, which well exceeds the inflation rate of 1.5% in the province. f

Population growth in Canada continues to outpace employment growth. Over the past year, employment has increased by 313,000 (+1.5%) while the population aged 15 and over has increased by 1.2 million (+3.6%).

The job market in Canada is doing worse than that of the United States. By adjusting the data to be able to compare the employment situation in the two countries, Statistics Canada notes that the unemployment rate has increased by 0.8 percentage points in Canada over the past year, while the increase is 0.3 percentage point in the United States for the same period.

Adjusted according to American concepts, the unemployment rate in Canada is currently 5.4% compared to 4.1% in the United States.