B.C. gained 11,000 jobs in December, according to data released this morning by Statistics Canada.
That national statistics agency also found that B.C. gained 32,000 jobs between December 2010 and December 2011 – a 1.4% gain, beating the national average of 1.2%.
However Statistics Canada found the December job growth was accompanied by parallel labour force growth – effectively canceling out any decrease of B.C.’s unemployment rate, which remained at 7% for December.
B.C.’s unemployment rate has decreased since October 2011, however, when it was 7.3%. The province lost 11,000 jobs that month. (See “B.C. lost 11,000 jobs in October: StatsCan” – BIV Business Today, November 4).
Across Canada, employment rose slightly in December, up 18,000 jobs after two months of declines. The unemployment rate edged up to 7.5% as more people participated in the labour market.
Over the past 12 months, employment growth across Canada totaled 199,000 (1.2%), with nearly all of the gains in the first half of the year.
Jenny Wagler
@JennyWagler_BIV