Part-time work helps Canada churn out 35,400 net jobs, jobless rate at 6.6%

OTTAWA — A surge in part-time work last month helped the Canadian economy pack on 35,400 net new jobs, a change that nudged the unemployment rate down to 6.6 per cent.

The number of new jobs reported by Statistics Canada was much higher than estimates but included a loss of 11,800 full-time positions, offset by a gain of 47,200 part-time jobs.

The economy also added 41,100 self-employed positions last month, while employee jobs across the country dropped by 5,700.

"Canada's job numbers were good, but not quite as good as they looked at first glance, given a tilt to part-time and self employed positions," CIBC chief economist Avery Shenfeld wrote in a note to clients Friday.

"All told, not a banner set of details, but at least a signpost that November's GDP drop, and December's retreat in employment, were not harbingers of an outright economic decline."

StatsCan recently indicated that Canada's gross domestic product declined 0.2 per cent in November compared with the previous month — a weaker-than-expected reading — primarily due to declines in manufacturing and key resource sectors.

The latest labour-market survey found that the natural resources sector lost 8,800 jobs in January amid the global oil slump. The number of jobs in professional, scientific and technical services increased by 22,400 positions.

Statistics Canada said reported Friday that the country's labour-force participation rate of 65.7 per cent last month was unchanged from December, but hovered around its lowest level since July 2000 when it hit 65.6 per cent.

The data also said Canada gained 127,600 jobs over the 12 months leading up to January, a total that included 107,800 full-time positions and 19,900 part-time jobs.

By region, the provinces of Quebec, Alberta, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island all had net increases, while Saskatchewan shed 8,400 jobs last month and saw its unemployment rate climb to 4.5 per cent from 3.7.

The report also shows the youth unemployment rate moved down by 0.7 percentage points last month to 12.8 per cent and that 30,300 more young people had work compared to a year earlier. The participation rate for youth fell to 64.3 per cent from 64.6 per cent in December.

Looking at the figures by gender, the agency found that 34,500 more women between the ages of 25 and 54 were working last month.

The data shows there were 6,000 fewer men in the same age bracket employed last month, which pushed the category's unemployment rate up to 5.8 per cent from 5.7.

On Friday, Statistics Canada also released its latest data for building permits, which showed the total value climbed in December by 7.7 per cent to $7.1 billion.