We can do better
So there were 52,000 new jobs in September, but we needed 72,500 to keep up with labour force growth. Â 33,800 of those jobs were self-employed workers, and none of those jobs were for workers under 25.
In the past year, men over 25 have been adding full time jobs, with 116,000 more full time jobs compared to September 2012. Â Women over 25 have added about the same number of jobs as men (118,000), but these jobs are evenly split between full-time and part-time.
A smaller proportion of the population is working now than was the case 4 years ago. Â Overall, 61.9% of Canadians over 15 are employed, compared to 63.6% in September 2008. Â The youth employment rate has fallen by 6.3 percentage points over the same period, from 60.5% to 54.2%.
The ‘real’ unemployment rate (R8) Â for youth is higher for September 2012 than for any September since 1997.
The real story on the jobs front is that we need to do better.