Unemployment rates in the largest CMAs

Unemployment rates are still highest in Montréal despite strong job growth

• Since 1988, Montréal's unemployment rate has remained high, compared with Canada's other large CMAs. In 2003, many people entered the labour force in search of work, boosting the rate even higher (to 9.5% from 8.4% in 2002), despite an employment increase of 1.6% over the same period.
• From 1995 to 2001, when job growth was robust in Calgary, the lowest unemployment rates were to be found in this CMA. While employment growth in this CMA was a respectable 2.3% in 2002, followed by 2.1% in 2003, this pace was surpassed by Edmonton, at 3.4% and 2.8%, respectively. As a result, Edmonton has overtaken Calgary as the CMA with the lowest unemployment rate (5.1% in both 2002 and 2003 versus 5.8% and 5.4%, respectively).
• Employment in Toronto has followed an upward trend since 1995, with an average annual growth rate of 3.4% over the eight-year period. Nevertheless, in 2003, the unemployment rate was up to 7.7%, compared with 7.4% the previous year. The number of people in the labour force searching for work has risen substantially in recent years; contributing factors to this could be an increasing population and the recent robust growth in the employment market.

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