Metropolitan Monthly Monitors: Metro Help-Wanted Index December 2010

The Canadian economy created over 300,000 jobs in the first six months of 2010. Since then, however, the pace of job growth has slowed considerably, with only 38,000 jobs created in the five months that followed. The story is the same for most Canadian cities—strong growth in the first half of the year and slower growth since. According to The Conference Board of Canada’s Help-Wanted Index, job growth at the local level will remain slow in the near term. Specifically, the near-term employment outlook is up in 11 census metropolitan areas, stable in 8, and down in 8. In Atlantic Canada, nearterm employment prospects are up only in St. John’s, while in Quebec, prospects are up only in Québec City and Montréal. In Ontario, job prospects are up in 5 of the 11 CMAs, while out West, prospects are up in 3 of the 8 CMAs. Despite the mixed prospects in Western Canada, the labour market tightness indicator is relatively low in all eight CMAs there, suggesting that labour markets remain tight in the West.