Highlights
- The Quebec City census metropolitan area (CMA) recorded an additional 3,000 jobs in January 2013 compared with December 2012, for a total of 421,700.
- The growth in employment (+0.7%), which slightly outweighed the increase in the workforce (+0.6%), drove unemployment back down to 4.6% in January, one of the lowest rates in Canada.
- The region’s monthly performance in January was also reflected in the employment rate, which stood at 65.4%, the highest in the province.
- Across the province of Quebec, 5,500 jobs were added in the month of January. Meanwhile, unemployment dropped 0.2 points to 7.1%.
Commentary
The good start to the year also brought unemployment below the 5% mark in the region (4.6% in January 2013). The only other Canadian cities to outperform Quebec City in this regard were Regina (4.1%) and Edmonton (4.3%). The demand for labour in Quebec City could help keep unemployment low throughout 2013. According to the results of the Léger Marketing survey on entrepreneurial confidence, issued in January by Quebec International, the Quebec City Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Lévis Chamber of Commerce, 76% of CEOs in the region plan to hire more workers in 2013.
All in all, Quebec City’s labour market is robust. Economic diversification is boosting the services sector and providing stability to the construction and manufacturing industries. These positive signs all point to the creation of more full-time jobs.
Louis Gagnon
Senior Economist
Quebec International
