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December job gains

The Canadian economy created 81,000 full-time jobs, and shed 27,000 part-time jobs

The Canadian job market finally seems to be getting its act together in time for 2017, with the number of full-time jobs far surpassing part-time job creation in December.

Statistics Canada’s latest monthly report is a welcome one, capping off a rocky year struggling to recover from the oil slump.

The Canadian economy added a net 54,000 jobs in December — this is in fact the fastest growth in jobs we’ve seen since 2012. What’s particularly different about the latest job numbers however, is the number of full-time jobs being created. In December, our economy created 81,000 full-time positions and eliminated 27,000 part-time jobs, bucking the jobs trend we had been seeing over the last few months, that skewed towards part-time employment.

Nearly all aspects of this month’s report were positive: strong full-time job growth, healthy private sector hiring, and an increase in the number of people joining the workforce as employees (rather than being self-employment).

Employment increases in British Columbia helped the country balance out oil-related losses, as jobs were eliminated in three oil producing provinces, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador.

The jobless rate rose slightly to 6.9 per cent from 6.8 per cent for the ‘right’ reasons in November, as more Canadians were drawn to the full-time job market and gains were mainly seen in the higher-skill service industries.

With January’s numbers on the horizon, let’s hope this trend will continue into the new year.