The average Canadian weekly earnings of employees stood at $801.24 in October, up 0.2 percent from September. Compared with a year earlier, average weekly earnings were up 3 percent.

Between October 2007 and October 2008, among Canada’s largest industrial sectors, earnings increased by 8.8 percent in accommodation & food services, 4.5 percent in health & social assistance, 3.5 percent in educational services, 1.8 percent in retail trade, and 1.7 percent in manufacturing.

The strongest year-over-year earnings growth was in Alberta (+4.3%), Nova Scotia (+4.1%), and Saskatchewan (+4.0%).

Canadian Average Weekly Earnings By Province
October 2008

Canadian Average Weekly Earnings By Industry
October 2008

Data from Statistics Canada

23 Dec 2008

Canada’s population grew by its highest quarterly growth rate for 18 years in the third quarter of 2008. Population growth continued to remain faster in the western part of the country.

As of October 1, 2008, Canada’s population was an estimated 33,441,300, up 129,900 from July 1. Populations rose in every province and territory, except the Northwest Territories, according to Statistics Canada.

The pace of Canada’s population growth was faster than in the same quarter of 2007 as a result of an increase in net immigration, which set a third-quarter record of 89,100. This growth in net immigration was due to an increase in the number of non-permanent residents.

During the third quarter of 2008, 71,300 immigrants entered Canada, slightly fewer than in the same quarter of the previous year.

Canada’s rate of natural increase also remained stable in the third quarter of 2008 compared with the same period in 2007, with the number of births and deaths increasing at a similar pace.

Western Canada

Population growth remained higher in Western Canada. The provinces of Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and Yukon all had growth rates higher than the national level. East of Manitoba, only Prince Edward Island outpaced the national level.

For a fourth consecutive quarter, Alberta led all the other provinces in population growth at almost twice the national rate. The province’s growth was mainly attributable to resurgence in movement from elsewhere in Canada and a strong increase in its number of non-permanent residents.

Saskatchewan had the highest net immigration rate in Canada in the third quarter. Its population has been growing at a faster rate than the national level since the second quarter of 2007.

Atlantic Provinces / Eastern Canada

In Eastern Canada, all Atlantic provinces recorded population increases for a second consecutive quarter. Prince Edward Island continued to lead the region in population growth with growth mainly due to immigration.

Newfoundland and Labrador experienced a high growth rate mainly due to inflows of people from other Canadian provinces.

For a fourth quarter in a row, Ontario’s population growth was below the national level.

Quebec’s population growth was its highest since 1991. An increasing number of births high immigration more than offset Quebec’s outflow to other provinces.

20 Dec 2008

Ontario suffered a bad month for employment in November with steep declines. Overall, however, the Canadian unemployment rate rose only slightly to 6.3 percent for the month.

Ontario
The largest employment declines in November were in Ontario, down 66,000. Full-time workers and men 25 and over were most affected. Ontario’s unemployment rate jumped to 7.1 percent in November from 6.5 percent the month before.

The steepest employment decline in November for the province was in manufacturing. Since 2002, the start of the downward trend, this sector’s share of employment in Ontario has fallen from 18 percent to 13 percent.

Quebec
Employment in Quebec was unchanged in November, with gains in full-time work offsetting losses in part-time. The unemployment rate edged down to 7.1 percent.

Since the start of the year, employment in Quebec has little changed as increases in health care & social assistance; manufacturing and construction were offset by declines in transportation & warehousing; trade and agriculture.

While Ontario’s unemployment rate has been historically lower than Quebec’s, the unemployment rates in these two provinces have been converging over the last few years. With the jump in unemployment in Ontario in November and no change in Quebec, the two rates are now the same for the first time in over 30 years.

Nova Scotia
Employment decreased in Nova Scotia by 4,400 in November, all in part time. This caused the unemployment rate to edge up to 7.8 percent.

Other Provinces
While employment in the other provinces was little changed in November, the fastest pace of employment growth so far in 2008 has been in Saskatchewan (+3.2%), Alberta (+2.1%) and Manitoba (+1.8%).

Industry Sectors
The manufacturing sector was hard hit in November, with an employment drop of 38,000.

Following gains in October associated with hiring for the federal election, employment in public administration fell by 27,000 in November. Even so, this industry has registered growth of 2.5 percent over the past 11 months.

In November, employment declines were also observed in transportation and warehousing, educational services and agriculture.

Employment in health care and social assistance grew by 18,000 in November, pushing gains since the beginning of the year to 68,000 (+3.6%). Professional, scientific and technical services also increased in November, bringing increases so far this year to 67,000 (+5.8%).

The employment decrease in November was split evenly between employees in the public and private sectors, while self-employment remained unchanged.
Data and information from Statistics Canada

8 Dec 2008