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BMO: Job Creation Numbers Show Employment Continues to Heat Up This Summer

BMO Summer Employment Survey Found Businesses are Hiring Students; Nearly Seven in 10 Say They Have Found a Job

New job numbers released today found that hiring in June continued its healthy trend from the first five months of 2010. Statistics Canada reported that 28,400 jobs were created in June, up from 22,300 in the prior month.

"This increase in jobs is on par with growth in the first five months of 2011, and the unemployment rate is holding steady at 7.4 per cent," said Douglas Porter, Deputy Chief Economist, BMO Capital Markets. "For the first half of this year, we have seen a creation of 191,800 jobs which is consistent with steady growth in the Canadian economy."

These numbers reflect the sunny outlook among students entering the job force for the summer, according to a new survey from BMO Bank of Montreal conducted by Leger Marketing. The survey found that 69 per cent of post-secondary students have found a summer job as businesses ramp up their hiring for the busy summer season. Meanwhile, 19 per cent said they were still looking for summer employment.

Those in the Prairies were more likely (53 per cent) to say they have a full-time summer job, compared to only 30 per cent of those in Ontario.

"Our research shows that business owners are feeling optimistic about the economy and the growth prospects for their businesses," said Cathy Pin, Vice-President, Commercial Banking, BMO Bank of Montreal. "The new job numbers reinforce a sunny outlook. What we are seeing is a willingness to spend and invest, whether it is new equipment or hiring student employees for a busy summer ahead."

The survey results show that of a variety of sectors, most students anticipate they will be working in sales or customer service. Sentiments by sector are:

--  Sales/customer service (15 per cent)
--  Retail (13 per cent)
--  Service sector e.g. restaurants (12 per cent)
--  Government-related (12 per cent)
--  Summer camp (6 per cent)
--  Hospitality (3 per cent)
--  Manufacturing (3 per cent)
--  Contractor e.g. landscaping, painting (2 per cent)
--  Financial Services (2 per cent)
--  Not-for-profit (2 per cent)

"There was a large gain in public sector jobs in June, which offset the dip in self-employment. The largest sector gains were in transportation and warehousing, and finance. Manufacturing and construction also saw moderate gains. Overall, there is no denying that Canada's labour market continues to make impressive progress," added Mr. Porter.

The survey was completed on-line from May 18th to May 26th, 2011 using Leger Marketing's online panel, LegerWeb, with a sample of 625 Canadians, who are 18 years of age or older who are currently attending college or university.

A probability sample of the same size would yield a margin of error of +/-3.9%.