Despite Canada’s employment gains last year, the country’s economy is still “not out of the woods,” according to TD Economics.
In a report published Wednesday, TD noted all of the net jobs created last year were part-time, and the activity decline in Canada’s oil-producing provinces – Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador – contributed to a drop in full-time employment. TD predicts activity in these provinces will likely increase in the coming year, but not enough to have a major impact on employment growth.
“We expect to see a slower pace of job growth over the course of 2017, with employment increasing by 0.5% through the year (fourth-quarter to fourth quarter), down from 0.8% in 2016,” the report read.
In its latest jobs report, Statistics Canada revealed the country added 19,400 part-time jobs in November, and shed 8,700 full-time positions.
TD attributes the uptick in part-time employment to changes in Employment Insurance rules, longer-term economic trends and an aging population.
The real estate sector showed relatively strong growth last year, which TD noted was likely due to Toronto and Vancouver’s hot housing markets. The finance sector also showed strength in 2016.
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