Unemployed youth peruse a jobs board at a resource centre in TorontoKevin Van Paassen
The Canadian economy pumped out 27,000 new jobs in August, with private sector hiring up for the first time in 11 months. Most of the gains were in part-time jobs, while full-time jobs fell by 3,500. While employers remain cautious, economists view the numbers as a sign that Canada's labour market is stabilizing. Here's a look:
Biggest gains in service industries
Retail and wholesale led with a 21,200 gain, Bank of Montreal economist Douglas Porter said in a research note.
Finance and real estate added a solid 17,500 jobs.
Construction rebounded after a sour July, with a gain of 12,100, helped by the recovery in the housing market and better weather.
The private sector steps up: First payroll increase in 11 months
"After a cumulative decline of 462,000 headcounts in the private sector since the onset of the recession, August marks the first job creation in private sector jobs in 11 months and the biggest gain since January, 2008, way before the recession began," Yanick Desnoyers, assistant chief economist of National Bank Financial Group said in a research note.
"This is signalling that businesses are starting to expand their workforce, a sign that an economic recovery is underway in Canada," Mr. Desnoyers said.
"Confidence surveys make interesting reading," added Avery Shenfeld, chief economist at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. "But there's no more positive sign of confidence as when the private sector begins to vote with its dollars by adding workers."
An employer's take: Century 21 proceeds with caution
Realtor Don Lawby, president and chief operating officer of Century 21, said there has been a dramatic improvement in the real estate market, and realtors have been hiring more clerical employees to handle the increased volumes.
However, he has not seen many new jobs opening up for agents or sales people yet.
A lot of the rebound so far has been the result of low interest rates and government stimulus measures, such as incentives for first-time home buyers, Mr. Lawby said, and the industry is waiting to see how strong and sustainable the recovery is before bulking up too heavily on staff.
"We made some cuts [at Century 21's head office]last September, and we are very careful in projecting the future," even though the Canadian market for re-sale homes has posting solid gains in unit sales since the spring.
"Right now we are making some considered decisions with regard to staffing, and possibly adding a couple of people," he said in an interview from his company's head office in Vancouver.
"Be we want to be very careful," Mr. Lawby said, adding that the last thing he wants to do is bring on more staff if there is any risk of another dip in the market. "You're monkeying with people's lives," if you hire someone, only to lay that person off again, he said.
Retailers: Adding staff by ones and twos
To meet resurgent demand, Toronto's Yorkdale Shopping Centre has extended its Sunday shopping hours by two hours - to 8 p.m.
This could mean additional hours of work for the part-timers and, in some cases, could lead to the hiring of more employees by some of the mall's retailers, Anthony Casalanguida, Yorkdale's general manager said in an interview.
Yorkdale made the decision four months ago to increase its Sunday hours to differentiate itself from the competition, but also in response to a need: Typically, there were 5,500 shoppers still in the mall at closing time on Sundays.
In the meantime, sales and traffic have picked up at Yorkdale - home to such retailers as Crate & Barrel, Apple, Holt Renfrew, Hugo Boss and Zara.
As manager of the mall, Mr. Casalanguida said he will make a few hires himself to cover the extended hours.
"We are putting on one or two additional people …in terms of our security, as well as customer service," he said.
The weak spots: Full-time employment fell by 3,500
Manufacturing shed 17,000 jobs in August.
Education jobs were down by 17,000, although this should be reversed in September, Mr. Porter said.
'But, hey, a part-time job is better than none'
"Looking behind the surprisingly sturdy headline, the details were somewhat less impressive," Mr. Porter wrote.
"All the gains were in services and part-time positions …but, hey, a part-time job is better than none."
Job gains in most provinces, Alberta still down
Ontario added 12,200 jobs, British Columbia created 8,600 more positions and Quebec posted a gain of 8,300, Mr. Desnoyers noted. Newfoundland and Manitoba also reported hiring increases.
Alberta was "a rare weak spot," with the loss of 6,700 jobs, BMO's Mr. Porter noted.
"Despite the widespread job gains, unemployment rates were up in fully seven provinces, as Canadians apparently flocked back into the job-hunting mode amid widespread talk of recovery," Mr. Porter said.
The outlook: No-one is calling it a hiring spree yet
It is premature to say that Canadian jobs are on a firm rebound, but the trend of job-shedding has clearly abated, Toronto-Dominion Bank economist Grant Bishop said in a research note.
"Looking ahead, the unemployment rate will certainly rise as workers are re-attracted to the labour force, and employment will likely remain choppy on a monthly basis as a tepid recovery takes hold," Mr. Bishop said.
Mr. Shenfeld said the employment numbers are consistent with his view that the recession ended in June.
"We look to further hiring in September, with the unemployment rate taking a dip lower that month," Mr. Shenfeld said. "But over all, GDP growth is likely to be too soft on average over the next six quarters to create enough jobs to significantly narrow the slack in the labour market."
There will be a lot of competition for the available jobs
"Population growth, and the return of more previously-discouraged job seekers is likely to send the unemployment rate to 9 per cent in the quarters ahead, even with positive net employment gains," Mr. Shenfeld said.