Unemployment rate drops 0.8 percentage points to 5.6%, according to national statistics agency<\/p>\n
The West Coast job market held steady going into the summer, according to Friday data from Statistics Canada.<\/p>\n
B.C. added 5,000 jobs in June for the fourth consecutive month of gains<\/a>.<\/p>\n The numbers aren\u2019t as rosy as they appear on the surface, though. The jump in employment numbers came from part-time employment (+21,300 jobs) as the province lost 16,300 full-time jobs.<\/p>\n Most of the gains made were driven by the food\/accommodation sector (+8,000 jobs), making up for almost all of the 8,700 jobs lost in that sector a month prior.<\/p>\n The tech sector added 2,500 jobs\u2014falling far short of the 11,100 jobs added in May.<\/p>\n Losses were felt in manufacturing (-4,800 jobs), transportation\/warehousing (-4,800 jobs) and construction (-2,500 jobs).<\/p>\n The province\u2019s unemployment rate dropped 0.8 percentage points to land at 5.6 per cent. This comes after the unemployment rate grew from April to May despite the province adding 13,000 jobs during that time period. The June figures show more people were leaving the workforce, bolstering the unemployment rate.<\/p>\n Canada as a whole added 83,000 jobs as the unemployment rate dropped 0.1 percentage point to 6.9 per cent.<\/p>\n \u201cOne arguable blemish is that most of the gains were in part-time jobs,\u201d BMO economist Benjamin Reitzes said in a note, referring to the national numbers that paralleled trends in B.C.<\/p>\n \u201cNo matter how you slice things, this report is materially better than expected.\u201d<\/p>\n But he said that given the uncertainty surrounding the economy, he remains skeptical of the latest jobs numbers.<\/p>\n \u201cEven so, it appears that the economy is hanging in there for now, pending the result of ongoing trade negotiations,\u201d Reitzes said.<\/p>\n TD senior economist Leslie Preston echoed the skepticism over the latest jobs data.<\/p>\n \u201cOne month isn’t going to turn the page on what is a much cooler labour market relative to a year ago,\u201d he said in a note. \u201cWith [U.S. President Donald] Trump making new threats<\/a> for a higher 35 per cent tariff rate on Canadian goods just last night, certainty for many Canadian businesses doesn’t appear to be improving any time soon.\u201d<\/p>\n [email\u00a0protected]<\/a><\/p>\n