Today, StatsCan released January’s Labour Force Survey. They stated that:
Employment rose for the second consecutive month in January, with a gain of 69,000. At the same time, the unemployment rate increased by 0.2 percentage points to 7.8%, as more people searched for work. Compared with January 2010, employment was up 1.9% (+327,000).
Source
The provinces that saw the employment gains were Alberta, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario and PEI. Both full-time and part-time employment rose – part-time by 2.8% and full-time by 1.7%.
The majority of the growth happened in the service sectors, public administration, and the agriculture industry. Manufacturing stayed approximately the same between December and January.
Some areas where employment fell in January include the transportation industry, as well as accommodation and food services.