Employment numbers consistent with moderate growth

Although economists were delighted with the creation of 34,000 jobs in August, the result of an increase in part-time work, there was nothing to celebrate if you are between the ages of 15 and 24.

According to Statistics Canada's Labour Force Information,  employment among youths fell by 22,000 in August and was down by 72,000 (2.9%) from a year ago. The youth unemployment rate rose by 0.5 percentage points to 14.8% in August. StatsCan's "Labour Force Surveyî tells us the average employment rate from May to August for students aged 15 to 24 was 47.9%, down from 49.1% last summer.

So, who gained from those 34,000 jobs created? It seems the over-55 group benefitted most. According to StatsCan, employment among women aged 55 and over increased by 46,000 in August, bringing year-over-year gains to 97,000 (+7.1%). The unemployment rate for this group fell by 0.9 percentage points to 5.2% in August.

The number of employed men aged 55 and over rose by 16,000 in August, the first notable increase in four months. Compared with 12 months earlier, employment for this group has increased by 104,000 (6.2%).

But sadly, Statscan notes, "the robust year-over-year employment increase for both men and women aged 55 and over was, in part, the result of population aging.î

Employment among those aged 25 to 54 was virtually unchanged in August at 47,000, up 0.4% from a year ago.

"The trend pace of job growth is not inconsistent with the broader picture of modest economic growth,î writes TD Bank Group economist Francis Fong. "Just shy of 157,000 net jobs have been added this year (about 20,000 a month), which equates to around 1% employment growth. In turn, this is fairly consistent with the roughly 2% pace of economic growth we have seen over the last three quarters.î