New Brunswick has lost nearly 3 per cent of its jobs over the past year. All that and then some was offset by Alberta, where the number of jobs swelled by 3.3 per cent, according to StatsCan’s latest survey of employment, payrolls and hours, released last week.
It’s more evidence that when it comes to landing a job in Canada, the principle that applies is the one from real estate: Location, location, location.
Industry, too, though. There are wide disparities in the hiring different sectors are doing. If you’re in construction or forestry, good news, jobs are way up over the past year, by 3.3 per cent and 2.7 per cent respectively.
But if you’re hoping for a government job, this isn’t the year for you. Government austerity measures at the federal and provincial levels mean the country lost 0.4 per cent of all public administration jobs over the past year, about 4,000 jobs.
Overall, the number of jobs in Canada grew 0.8 per cent over the past year, just slightly too little to cover population growth, but a better reading than StatsCan's reports had been showing in recent months.
In the provincial side... poor New Brunswick. The province has lost 2.9 per cent of all its jobs over the past year, or about 9,000 jobs. That’s a much worse performance than neighbouring Nova Scotia, which managed to add about 2,100 jobs in that time.
More surprisingly, Manitoba lost nearly 2 per cent or 11,000 jobs over the past year, which is not what you’d expect in western Canada. Out west, the picture solidifying is that of Alberta running away with it all. Previously booming Saskatchewan has seen job growth moderate, and Alberta is all alone in the club of provinces with better than 3-per-cent job growth.
But don’t count it continuing, at least in the short term. Oil prices are falling and policy makers in Alberta are beginning to freak out a little about what it means for the oil boom (and government revenue). And this week consultancy Mackenzie Wood Group forecast that spending in the oilsands will fall by 25 per cent next year, which could very well spell the end of Alberta's job juggernaut.
Here are the best and worst provinces, and the best and worst industries, by job creation over the past year.
