Following strong gains in the last four months of 2003, employment was little changed in January (+15,000). An increase of 47,000 full-time jobs was offset by a decline in part-time work. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 7.4%.

Continued strength in full-time employment

In January, gains in full-time employment were offset by losses in part-time employment for youths and adults. Since August 2003, when job growth gained momentum, full-time employment gains total 208,000 (+1.6%) while part-time employment has increased by only 12,000 (+0.4%).

Since last August, employment among adult women has increased by 112,000 (+1.8%), all in full-time. For adult men , employment has risen at a slower pace of 1.1% (+82,000) with the gains in both full and part-time. Youth employment gains over this period total 26,000 (+1.1%), all in full-time.

Due to continued strength in full-time employment, the number of hours worked rose for the third consecutive month, up 1.6% since October.

More health care and social assistance jobs

Employment in health care and social assistance continued on its upward trend with an increase of 25,000 in January. Employment in this sector has shown growth since the summer of 2001, however the momentum has increased since last August (+5.1%). The gain in January was observed in several provinces with the largest increase in Ontario.

In January, employment increased by 19,000 in professional, scientific and technical services, with gains concentrated in Ontario and Alberta. Despite this increase, employment in this sector has changed little over the last year after strong growth in 2002.

Employment also rose in information, culture and recreation (+11,000). Compared to a year ago, employment in this sector is up 32,000 with the largest increase in amusement, gambling and recreation industries.

Employment in manufacturing was little changed for the second consecutive month, leaving losses since November 2002 when the downward trend started at 71,000 (-3.0%).

The bitterly cold weather that affected many parts of the country in January may likely be a factor in the decline in employment in accommodation and food services as well as construction.

Employment declined by 17,000 in accommodation and food services with losses observed in most provinces. Following weakness in late spring and summer, employment in this sector had shown signs of recovery in the last quarter of 2003.

Employment also fell in construction in January (-11,000), the result of a large decrease in Ontario. Despite the decline, this sector has experienced robust job growth since 2002.

In January, employment fell by 7,000 in agriculture, offsetting the gain in December. This leaves employment in the sector 2.4% below the level of a year ago. About half of the decline in January occurred in Alberta.

More employment in Ontario

Employment in Ontario increased by 18,000 in January, the second consecutive monthly gain. Since last August when employment growth regained momentum, job gains total 86,000 (+1.4%). The largest increases in January in Ontario were in professional, scientific and technical services, health care and social assistance as well as trade. These gains were partly offset by losses in construction and accommodation and food services. The unemployment rate edged down 0.1 percentage points to 6.6%.

In January, employment in Quebec was unchanged as an increase of 26,000 full-time jobs was offset by a decline in part-time. Since January 2003, employment in the province is up only 38,000 (+1.0%). A slight decline in labour force participation in January pushed the unemployment rate down 0.3 percentage points to 9.1%.

Employment rose by 5,000 in Newfoundland and Labrador with the largest gain in food processing manufacturing. This increase leaves employment in the province slightly above the level at the start of 2003. In January, the unemployment rate fell 1.5 percentage points to 16.5%.

Employment in New Brunswick rose by 4,000 in January with gains spread across a number of industries. As more people entered the labour force in search of work, the unemployment rate rose 0.5 percentage points to 10.4%. Employment in the province fluctuated throughout 2003, and the increase in January leaves the number of jobs up only 0.3% from January 2003.

Due to a large decrease in wholesale and retail trade, employment in Alberta declined by 8,000 in January. Despite the decline, employment in the province is 2.9% higher than a year ago. The unemployment rate edged up 0.2 percentage points in January to 5.0%.

In January, the number of jobs in Prince Edward Island edged down 900, leaving employment in the province 2.5% above the level of a year ago. In January, the unemployment rate rose by 0.7 percentage points to 10.8%

There was little change in employment in the other provinces in January.