Evidently the pundits were expecting better numbers, but employment numbers stayed virtually the same in January (compared to December) and thanks to the accounting method, unemployment actually jumped in January.
Both full-time and part-time employment were essentially unchanged in January. Compared with 12 months earlier, the number of full-time workers was up 1.2% (+170,000), while the number of part-time workers declined 1.2% (-41,000). At the same time, the total number of hours worked grew 1.4%, with all of the increase in the first half of the period.
OK, not great news, but at least it isn’t really bad news it is just not good news either.
The number of employees went up, as much as the number of self-employed dropped (by 37,000) which is worrisome.
It looks like folks are looking for more mature folks on the job with the following quote:
Employment increased by 19,000 in January among women aged 55 and over. Employment for this age group grew 3.5% (+49,000) compared with 12 months earlier, in large part a result of the aging of the population.
Men aged 55 and over saw little employment change in January. Their 12-month employment growth rate of 3.1% (+52,000) was entirely the result of the aging population.
Guess grey hair may be in this year?
The Big Table
My regular readers know I am a big fan of looking at all the info that the Stats Canada folks provide, and this table is a good one to check out:
Labour force characteristics by age and sex – Seasonally adjusted
| Decem 2011 | January  2012 | Dec 2011 to Jan 2012 | Jan  2011 to Jan 2012 | Dec  2011 to Ja  2012 | Jan 2011 to Jan  2012 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| thousands (except rates) | change in thousands (except rates) | % change | ||||
| Both sexes, 15 years and over | ||||||
| Population | 28,130.8 | 28,156.4 | 25.6 | 315.6 | 0.1 | 1.1 |
| Labour force | 18,754.5 | 18,778.2 | 23.7 | 106.6 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| Employment | 17,354.7 | 17,357.0 | 2.3 | 129.1 | 0.0 | 0.7 |
| Full-time | 14,052.5 | 14,048.9 | -3.6 | 170.4 | 0.0 | 1.2 |
| Part-time | 3,302.2 | 3,308.1 | 5.9 | -41.4 | 0.2 | -1.2 |
| Unemployment | 1,399.8 | 1,421.2 | 21.4 | -22.5 | 1.5 | -1.6 |
| Participation rate | 66.7 | 66.7 | 0.0 | -0.4 | … | … |
| Unemployment rate | 7.5 | 7.6 | 0.1 | -0.1 | … | … |
| Employment rate | 61.7 | 61.6 | -0.1 | -0.3 | … | … |
| Part-time rate | 19.0 | 19.1 | 0.1 | -0.3 | … | Â … |
| Youths, 15 to 24 years | ||||||
| Population | 4,457.3 | 4,457.0 | -0.3 | -2.3 | 0.0 | -0.1 |
| Labour force | 2,845.6 | 2,847.8 | 2.2 | -33.9 | 0.1 | -1.2 |
| Employment | 2,444.9 | 2,435.9 | -9.0 | -30.7 | -0.4 | -1.2 |
| Full-time | 1,303.0 | 1,270.0 | -33.0 | -16.3 | -2.5 | -1.3 |
| Part-time | 1,141.9 | 1,165.9 | 24.0 | -14.4 | 2.1 | -1.2 |
| Unemployment | 400.6 | 411.9 | 11.3 | -3.2 | 2.8 | -0.8 |
| Participation rate | 63.8 | 63.9 | 0.1 | -0.7 | … | … |
| Unemployment rate | 14.1 | 14.5 | 0.4 | 0.1 | … | … |
| Employment rate | 54.9 | 54.7 | -0.2 | -0.6 | … | … |
| Part-time rate | 46.7 | 47.9 | 1.2 | 0.0 | … | Â … |
| Men, 25 years and over | ||||||
| Population | 11,583.7 | 11,596.5 | 12.8 | 158.6 | 0.1 | 1.4 |
| Labour force | 8,429.3 | 8,431.8 | 2.5 | 72.4 | 0.0 | 0.9 |
| Employment | 7,875.5 | 7,873.7 | -1.8 | 75.1 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
| Full-time | 7,272.1 | 7,261.9 | -10.2 | 83.3 | -0.1 | 1.2 |
| Part-time | 603.4 | 611.9 | 8.5 | -8.2 | 1.4 | -1.3 |
| Unemployment | 553.8 | 558.1 | 4.3 | -2.6 | 0.8 | -0.5 |
| Participation rate | 72.8 | 72.7 | -0.1 | -0.4 | … | … |
| Unemployment rate | 6.6 | 6.6 | 0.0 | -0.1 | … | … |
| Employment rate | 68.0 | 67.9 | -0.1 | -0.3 | … | … |
| Part-time rate | 7.7 | 7.8 | 0.1 | -0.2 | … | Â … |
| Women, 25 years and over | ||||||
| Population | 12,089.8 | 12,102.9 | 13.1 | 159.3 | 0.1 | 1.3 |
| Labour force | 7,479.6 | 7,498.6 | 19.0 | 68.0 | 0.3 | 0.9 |
| Employment | 7,034.3 | 7,047.3 | 13.0 | 84.6 | 0.2 | 1.2 |
| Full-time | 5,477.4 | 5,517.0 | 39.6 | 103.4 | 0.7 | 1.9 |
| Part-time | 1,556.9 | 1,530.3 | -26.6 | -18.8 | -1.7 | -1.2 |
| Unemployment | 445.4 | 451.3 | 5.9 | -16.5 | 1.3 | -3.5 |
| Participation rate | 61.9 | 62.0 | 0.1 | -0.2 | … | … |
| Unemployment rate | 6.0 | 6.0 | 0.0 | -0.3 | … | … |
| Employment rate | 58.2 | 58.2 | 0.0 | -0.1 | … | … |
| Part-time rate | 22.1 | 21.7 | -0.4 | -0.5 | … | Â … |
The situation is much worse than the official propaganda numbers reveal. Underemployment has skyrocketed since 2008. Fewer full time, more part time – fewer hours worked per employee. Good manufacturing jobs have died, replaced by low-wage service sector employment. Marginal employment – commissioned, self-employed, contract work – makes up a bigger portion of the market. And this all ignores that inflation is much higher than the official stats indicate. Our housing bubble, long denied by Canada’s genius realtors and Banks, is finally being recognized, and it’s far too late to resolve the problem. Canada has been very, very cocky about our economy. The reckoning cometh.