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March 12 2010 - Statistics Canada reported that unemployment fell by 0.1% to 8.2% in February with substantial increases in full-time jobs (+60,000) offset by losses in part-time jobs (-39,000). Most of the increase (+46,000) was in public service jobs.

Seasonally adjusted, unemployment rates vary from 14.7% (Newfoundland and Labrador) to 4.3% (Saskatchewan).

Rates for all the provinces were (previous month in brackets):

• Newfoundland and Labrador 14.7% (14.9%)
• Prince Edward Island 10.2% (9.9%)
• Nova Scotia 9.3% (9.8%)
• New Brunswick 9.1% (9.3%)
• Quebec 8.1% (8.0%)
• Ontario 9.1% (9.2%)
• Manitoba 5.4% (5.4%)
• Saskatchewan 4.3% (4.7%)
• Alberta 6.9% (6.6%)
• British Columbia 7.7% (8.1%)

Ken Georgetti, president of the Canadian Labour Congress said that the federal government must do more to help laid-off workers, half of whom are not on EI:

"Rose-hued news reports keep telling us that we’re seeing an economic recovery, but we’ve lost over 250,000 full-time jobs since October 2008 and it’s going to take a long time to replace them.

"This government has tinkered around the edges, but has refused to fix an EI system that is broken."

Noting the particular difficulty for younger job-seekers, he said: "There was really nothing in the federal budget to give hope to young workers as spring and summer approaches. The government simply has to do more to help these people."

CLC Senior Economist Sylvain Schetagne provided the following analysis:

• About 6 months after many declared the recession in Canada was over, the unemployment rate in February remained high at 8.2%. There were 20,900 jobs created in February 2010, all in the public sector. The participation rate, that is the percentage of the population working or actively looking for a job, is decreasing. This shows that many Canadians are discouraged about not being able to find a job.
• The 'real' unemployment rate, which includes discouraged workers and involuntary part-time workers, was 12.1% last month. Back in February 2008, that 'real' unemployment rate was 8.9%.
• The number of unemployed remains more than 33% above what it was before the beginning of the jobs' crisis, with 1,519,400 workers unemployed last month, compared to 1,137,400 in October 2008.
• Among unemployed Canadians, the percentage who were unemployed for more than 6 months reached a record level of 20.36% in February 2010, up from 12.19% in February 2008.
• Finally, younger workers are still experiencing a deterioration in the labour market. Workers aged 15-24 represented about half of all those laid-off in the middle of the recession, and their unemployment rate increased in February. It was 15.1%, compared to an unemployment rate of below 12% before October 2008.

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