Immigrants in Alberta benefited from the strong labour market in the oil-rich province. Their employment growth in 2007 was the second highest among the provinces at 8.4 percent (+18,000), with almost all the gains in full-time jobs.
Newfoundland & Labrador experienced an employment gain in April (+2,400), continuing the upward trend which started last summer, bringing its employment rate to a record high of 52.6 percent. Over the last 12 months, employment has increased by 2.3 percent, with growth stemming from construction, professional, scientific and technical services as well as public administration.
The average house price is forecast to rise 5.3 per cent in 2008 and a further 4.2 per cent next year, pushing prices to new heights. Price gains will become smaller as the resale housing market becomes more balanced.
For the third consecutive year, families living in Alberta had the highest average after-tax income ($70,500), followed by those in Ontario ($62,400) and British Columbia ($60,300).
In February, the average weekly Canadian earnings of all payroll employees (full and part-time) increased to $786.80. Compared with a year earlier, average weekly earnings were up 3.1 percent. Among Canada’s largest industrial sectors, earnings rose 5.8% in health and social assistance, 2.6 percent in manufacturing, 2.5 percent in educational services, and 0.9 percent in retail trade compared with a year earlier.
Canadian resale housing activity declined in the first quarter of 2008 compared to the previous quarter while new listings reached their highest quarterly level ever, according to statistics released by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). The result was the most balanced resale housing market of any quarter in the past nine years.
Seasonally adjusted [...]
Each wave of immigration to Canada has increased the ethnocultural diversity of Canada’s population. In fact, more than 200 different ethnic origins were reported in the 2006 Census. In contrast, just about 25 different ethnic groups were recorded in Canada in the 1901 Census.
The average distance travelled by workers to their place of work in 2006 was 7.6 kilometres, up from 7.2 kilometres in 2001 and 7.0 kilometres in 1996. Workers in Ontario had the highest median distance in 2006 at 8.7 kilometres.
In March, employment among older workers (55 years and older) increased by 24,000, building on the strong gains of the past year. Older workers have shown the fastest employment increase of all age groups over the past 12 months, with an annual growth rate of 7.8 percent, well above the 0.9 percent for core-aged (25 to 54 years) workers.
In January, the average weekly Canadian earnings of all payroll employees ( full and part-time) increased $4.38 from December to $785.14. Compared with a year earlier, average weekly earnings were up 3 percent.
In Canada’s largest industrial sectors, earnings were up 3.3 percent in manufacturing, 2.8 percent in health and social assistance, 2.5 percent in educational services, and 1.6 percent in retail trade compared with a year earlier. Quebec and Manitoba have had the strongest year-over-year earnings growth of all provinces at 4.7 percent and 4.6 percent respectively. The average hourly earnings for hourly paid employees edged up $0.08 to $19.68 in January.