51,000 new jobs added to construction industry in 2017

Road construction workers shovel asphalt into a loaders bucket on a road renewal project.

Canada’s unemployment rate fell to its lowest in four decades in 2017, with 51,000 jobs added to the construction industry.

The Statistics Canada monthly labour force survey reported a year of growth across all industries. Unemployment rates landed at 5.7 per cent, the lowest since 1976.

Construction employment grew 3.6 per cent in the last year. The industry saw a 0.5 per cent bump from November to December 2017, a total of 6,500 new jobs.

Gains for the industry were mainly concentrated in British Columbia. The province closed out the year with an employment growth rate of 3.4 per cent.

Across the country and in all industries, 423,000 new jobs were added – the fastest rate recorded since 2002, according to Statistics Canada.

Employment in the goods-producing sector grew 3.5 per cent in 2017. Manufacturing saw 86,000 new jobs, followed by natural resources with 15,000.

Nearly all gains for the year were in full-time work, increasing by 394,000. Total hours worked grew to 3.1 per cent in 2017.

The number of employed people aged 55 and over increased by 5.3 per cent in the past year, exceeding the rate of population for this group. In December, there were 33,000 more workers aged 55 and over.

The country added 79,000 new jobs in December, entering a third consecutive month of job growth. The increase for the month was concentrated in part-time work, which reached 55,000. The largest employment gains were observed in Quebec and Alberta. 

SOURCE: Statistics Canada