On the heels of a surge in employment in
November, Canadian employment posted a strong increase again in December,
growing by 40,000 jobs. December's increase in jobs was entirely due to gains
in full-time employment. The Canadian economy added just shy of 100,000 new
jobs in the final two months of 2012, which pushed the national unemployment
rate to 7.1 per cent, its lowest level in 4 years.
Job growth in the BC economy was essentially flat as an increase of 4,300 in
full-time employment was mostly offset by declining part-time employment. The
BC unemployment rate fell 0.3 points to finish the year at 6.5 per cent.
Despite some softness towards the end of the year, the story of the BC labour
market in 2012 was overwhelmingly positive. BC employment grew 1.7 per
cent in 2012, a marked improvement from just 0.8 per cent in 2011, while annual
growth in full-time employment was 2.8 per cent in 2012 compared with just 0.5
per cent in 2011. The provincial unemployment rate averaged 6.8 per cent in
2012, the first time in 4 years that unemployment fell below 7 per cent.
Finally, the US economy continued its slow and steady recovery, adding155,000
jobs in December following job growth of 161,000 in November. The US
unemployment rate remained constant, finishing the year at 7.8 per cent.
Copyright BCREA - Reprinted with permission
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