The employment rate in Canada rose in July according to a survey conducted by Statistics Canada. (lyncconf.com)
Christina Zisko
The employment rate rose in Canada last month, a Labour Force Survey by Statistics Canada reports.
The July 2018 report was released Friday, showing Canada’s unemployment rate dropped 0.2 percentage points to 5.8 per cent.
The survey is released monthly by Statistics Canada, said Vincent Hardy, an analyst in the labour statistics division of Statistics Canada. The purpose of the survey is to calculate the unemployment and employment rates across the country.
The increases in employment are “driven by gains in part-time work,” the survey reports.
While the increase in part-time positions was behind the employment rate increase in July, “the percentage increase in part-time employment has not necessarily been a trend,” Hardy said.
Full time employment in Canada has seen a greater increase in the past year than part time, he said.
The month of July ended well for Ontario, according to the survey results as there was a particularly notable employment increase.
“There has been an increase of 60,600 people in employment between the two months [of June and July]” in the province, Hardy said.
The reported noted the unemployment rate in Ontario also “fell to 0.5 percentage points to 5.4 per cent, matching the most recent low recorded in July 2000.”
Educational services and health care are two of the industries that grew in employment, he said.
The month of July was also a good one for female workers, according to the report. Women made up more than 30,000 of the 35,000 increase in the core age group of 25 to 54. Women aged 55 and older matched a record unemployment low of 4.2 per cent, last seen in April 2008.
The Labour Force Survey results are based on a combination of telephone and in-person interviews with over 50,000 Canadians, Hardy said.