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Investing.com -- In February 2025, Canada’s employment rate remained steady, with an addition of just 1,100 jobs, according to a recent labor force survey by Statistics Canada. This figure falls significantly short of the expected 20,000 new jobs, as per consensus expectations.
The report showed an increase of 27,000 positions for women aged 25 to 54, while employment among women aged 55 and older saw a decrease of 15,000. The employment rate remained constant at 61.1%, and the unemployment rate was also unchanged at 6.6%.
There was a rise in employment in the wholesale and retail trade sector, with an addition of 51,000 jobs, and the finance, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing sector also saw an increase of 16,000 jobs. However, professional, scientific and technical services saw a decrease of 33,000 positions, and transportation and warehousing saw a reduction of 23,000 jobs.
In terms of geographical distribution, Nova Scotia recorded a decrease of 4,300 jobs, while other provinces saw little change in employment levels. Total (EPA:TTEF) work hours for the month fell by 1.3%, but showed a 0.5% increase compared to the same period the previous year.
The average hourly wage for employees rose by 3.8% from the previous year, bringing it to $36.14 in February, following a growth of 3.5% in January. On a year-over-year basis, employment increased by 387,000 or 1.9%.
In February, employment among people aged 55 years and older fell by 21,000. The youth employment rate, which applies to individuals aged 15 to 24 years, remained steady at 54.3%.
The report also highlighted that severe snowstorms led to lost work hours in February. A total of 429,000 employees lost work hours due to adverse weather conditions, a figure four times higher than the average for February over the previous five years.
The survey also revealed that 30.3% of people aged 18 to 64 in the labor force reported that they would be willing to move to another province for a suitable job offer. This figure is up 3.5 percentage points from February 2022. The willingness to relocate for work was highest among people in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador.