WATCH: The latest numbers from Statistics Canada are good news for B.C. Ted Chernecki reports.
Canada’s hobbled economy received an encouraging jolt Friday as the labour market showed a surge of 58,900 net jobs last month, many of which appeared in a sector considered key to the country’s rebound: factories.
The job-growth figures, released by Statistics Canada, provided a cautious dose of optimism the economy will begin chugging again after reversing in the first three months of 2015.
In B.C., the economy gained 30,600 positions, with 2,600 of the gigs in manufacturing.
“Trendlines show pretty weak job growth, frankly, for Canada and for B.C. looking over, say, three, six or nine months,” said Jock Finlayson of the Business Council of B.C. “Nonetheless, last month’s numbers are certainly hopeful. B.C., though, will do better than Canada, for sure, in terms of economic performance this year and next year.”
Ontario received the biggest employment boost by adding 43,900 jobs last month, 15,700 of them in manufacturing. The flood of new positions shaved 0.3 percentage points off Ontario’s jobless rate, which slid to 6.5 per cent.
The natural-resources industry, hit hard by the decline in energy prices, shed 2,400 jobs, the report said.
Statistics Canada also reported unemployment by city. In B.C., Vancouver’s jobless numbers have gone up and numbers are down in Victoria, Abbotsford and Kelowna. While many of those new jobs are in the service sector, industries like shipbuilding and forestry are also driving B.C.’s economy with a new vigour.
-with files from Canadian Press and Ted Chernecki
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