Firms took a breather from hiring last month, according to the latest figures released this morning by Statistics Canada.
Employment gains slowed to 7,700 in May with the goods-producing sector adding 11,100 positions and the service sector clipping another 3,400 from their payrolls. The split between the public and private sectors showed public sector employment recovered 6,900 of the 19,200 jobs cut in April. Private employment fell by 22,500 denting the 128,400 jobs created over the previous two months. The number of self-employed increased by 23,300 in May after edging down by 8,400 in April. The unemployment rate was steady at 7.3% as another 15,700 returned to the labour force.
Gains in the goods-producing sector were concentrated in manufacturing and agriculture. Manufacturing employment posted the sixth consecutive monthly gain adding another 36,400 for a cumulative increase of 115,00. The construction industry conversely cut 27,000 jobs ending a three-month streak of increases. Service sector employers trimmed back 3,400 positions in May, making it the fourth month over the past five that jobs were lost. Still, as of May, the number of employed in the services sector stood 15,000 higher than at the end of 2011. Increases in education and retail/wholesale trade moderated the impact of declines in most other industries with the largest cuts in culture/recreation and professional/scientific services.
The split between full-time and part-time jobs favoured part-time which accounted for 6,300 of the 7,700 gains. Full-time employment inched up by 1,400, however, over the past 12 months, full time employment rose by 192,000 while part-time rose by a much smaller 11,000. Average hourly wages for permanent workers were up 2.9% in May compared to a year earlier, the fastest pace since October 2009. The number of hours worked rose by 0.2%, an acceleration from April's flat reading.
On a regional basis, gains were recorded in Alberta, New Brunswick and Quebec. Ontario lost 18,700 jobs in May, though the unemployment rate held steady at 7.8%. In BC, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, employment was little changed on the month, while the eastern provinces (outside New Brunswick) posted small declines.
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