Employment edged up by 15,000 in November. At the same time, there was a notable decline in the number of youths participating in the labour market. As a result, the unemployment rate fell 0.3 percentage points to 7.6%, the lowest since January 2009.
Since November 2009, employment has risen by 318,000 (+1.9%).
In November, part-time gains were partly offset by decreases in full time. Over the past year, part-time employment has grown by 4.0% (+127,000), a faster pace than the 1.4% growth in full time (+192,000).
November's employment gains in health care and social assistance; retail and wholesale trade; and accommodation and food services were mostly offset by declines in manufacturing as well as in finance, insurance, real estate and leasing.
Ontario was the only province with a notable employment increase in November. Quebec and Manitoba had employment declines in the month, while the other provinces showed little change.
While employment for youths aged 15 to 24 was unchanged, their unemployment levels fell. This pushed the youth unemployment rate down 1.4 percentage points to 13.6%.
(Source: Statistics Canada)
