Employment rose by 91,000 (+0.4%) in December and the employment rate increased 0.2 percentage points to 60.8%. The unemployment rate declined 0.1 percentage points to 6.7%.
In December, employment rose for core-aged men (25 to 54 years old) (+30,000; +0.4%) and men aged 55 and older (+41,000; +1.7%) as well as for women aged 55 and older (+21,000; +1.1%).
Employment gains in December were led by educational services (+17,000; +1.1%), transportation and warehousing (+17,000; +1.6%), finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing (+16,000; +1.1%), and health care and social assistance (+16,000; +0.5%).
In December, employment increased in Alberta (+35,000; +1.4%), Ontario (+23,000; +0.3%), British Columbia (+14,000; +0.5%), Nova Scotia (+7,400; +1.4%), and Saskatchewan (+4,000; +0.7%), while there was a decline in Manitoba (-7,200; -1.0%). Employment was little changed in the other provinces.
Total hours worked rose 0.5% in December and were up 2.1% compared with 12 months earlier.
Average hourly wages among employees were up 3.8% (+$1.32 to $35.77) on a year-over-year basis in December, following growth of 4.1% in November (not seasonally adjusted).
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