B.C. adds 19,800 jobs in February, unemployment rate at 6.3%

British Columbia’s economy took a surprising turn in February, as the province added thousands of jobs following a slump the previous month.

But economists caution that after half a year of flat lining, the economy won’t bounce back in one month of job growth.

Statistics Canada says employment rose 0.9 per cent last month, adding 19,800 jobs, most of them full-time positions. The unemployment rate, however, remained unchanged at 6.3 per cent.

The gain was the second largest in Canada after Ontario and followed a month that saw B.C. shed 16,000 jobs, mostly part-time and in construction, health care and social assistance.

Helmut Pastrick, chief economist for Central Credit Union, was surprised to see such a significant increase in the numbers, but said the province would need a few more months of growth before it sees the economy on the upswing.

“Certainly in B.C. we’ve seen a mediocre performance and I expected to see that trend continue into February,” he said on Friday morning.

“We’ve seen a nice reversal but it’s only one month and one shouldn’t rely too heavily on that. My prediction for March is that I would not expect a repeat. Certainly, it’s welcome news and hopefully it will indicate an ongoing improvement, but that remains to be seen.”

B.C.’s jobs were spread out in retail and wholesale by close to 5,500 positions, with a similar increase in finance and insurance and real estate and leasing, said Vincent Ferrao, an analyst with Statistics Canada.

Most of the jobs added were held by women over age 25 and young people between the ages of 15 and 24.

Ferrao said there were also increases in education, health care and social assistance, while industries that saw the biggest losses were manufacturing, technology and natural resources.

Despite losses in those sectors, B.C. Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training Pat Bell welcomed Friday’s Statistics Canada report as good news for B.C., noting that the province ranked second in job growth in February.

“There are many reasons to be confident about B.C.’s economy. We are bringing new dollars into the province through increased investment and more exports to trading partners in Asia and beyond,” he said, in a statement Friday.

“In turn, we’re creating the opportunity for more jobs for hard-working British Columbians.”

But New Democrat finance critic Bruce Ralston noted that while the numbers offer a glimmer of hope, B.C.’s economy is still struggling.

He said the province has lost jobs since September 2011, when Premier Christy Clark launched the B.C. Jobs Plan — a program Ralston has called “a complete failure.”

“February saw some modest growth in jobs across the province, but since September 2011 we’re still down nearly 30,000 jobs in the private sector,” he said, in a statement.

Of the nearly 20,000 jobs created in B.C., less than half were in Metro Vancouver. Employment in the region went up month to month by about 8,000, mostly in retail and wholesale and restaurants and hotels.

The unemployment rate is fell to 6.4 per cent in Metro Vancouver, down slightly from 6.5 per cent in January.

Overall, Canada’s economy churned out a surprisingly strong 50,700 new jobs in February, most of them full-time, in the private sector and in Ontario.

The big gain was enough to keep the unemployment rate at the four year low of 7.0 per cent despite the fact over 60,000 Canadians joining the labour force in the month, another good signal for the economy.

Regionally, Ontario was the biggest generator of new jobs, adding 35,300, followed by B.C. Quebec had the biggest drop in employment, shedding 13,100 jobs.

Economists had expected a second weak month in February given that most indicators have been pointing to modest growth and January saw an outright loss of nearly 22,000 jobs. The forecast had been for about 8,000 new jobs.

But instead markets are likely to be buoyed by the result, particularly as the economy also got some welcome news on Thursday with a report showing exports had rebounded in January.

Investors will also be encouraged by similarly strong U.S. employment data, released Friday at about the same time.

The Canadian dollar surged shortly after the two announcements. It was rose to 97.67 cents US, up 0.53 of a cent from the Thursday close.

The details of the Statistics Canada’s employment report were almost as strong as the headline number. Most of the new workers were employees, rather than in the weaker self-employment category, in the private sector and full-time jobs beat out part-time positions two-to-one.

If there was a weak link, it came in the manufacturing, which continued its losing streak of the past few months. The factory sector dropped 25,600 workers in February, putting it in negative territory overall for the past 12 months.

The latest result continues a trend of the labour market outperforming the general drift of the economy, which is known to have grown at a tepid 0.7 per cent during in the last half of 2012.

Yet, Statistics Canada said the country has managed to add 336,000 new jobs over the past 12 months, almost all full-time. As well, total hours worked increased by 1.9 per cent.

Later Friday morning, economists are expected to present Finance Minister Jim Flaherty with a new outlook for this year’s economy that points to growth picking up from last year’s poor second half, but still remaining below two per cent for the year as a whole.

In February, Statistics said about 26,000 new jobs were created in the scientific and technical services sector. There were also 21,000 additional workers in the accommodation and food services, which may have been partly due to resumption of NHL hockey in late January. Public administration and agriculture also saw gains.