Canada adds 61,000 jobs in September

The Canadian economy added a surprising 61,000 jobs in September, all of it in full-time employment, Statistics Canada reported Friday.

The job growth helped push the country's unemployment rate down to 7.1 per cent, the lowest since December 2008.

Economists had been expecting 15,000 jobs to be added, and for the unemployment rate to remain steady at 7.3 per cent.

The country added 63,800 full-time jobs, but part-time employment slipped by 2,900.

But beyond the eye-popping headline number, the employment details "were much softer and more mixed in the report than the headline suggests on multiple counts," Scotiabank economist Derek Holt noted.

Many of the jobs came from public sector job growth, while the private sector lost almost 15,000 jobs. Self-employment rose by 38,900, "and we always treat this category with skepticism," Holt said. "Many self-employed jobs are vital contributions to a small-business based economy, but the volatility in this component and its tendency to report a pickup in self-reporting during soft spots in the economy make us doubtful that such a heavy role in lifting the headline is with substance."

And despite the job growth, the actual number of hours worked declined by 0.3 per cent. That's a troubling sign for GDP, since it's calculated based on the number of hours worked times the productivity of the labour force, Holt noted.

Statistics Canada said job increases were notable in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

The federal agency said job gains were spread across a number of industries, with educational services adding 38,000 positions with the start of the new school year.

The professional, scientific and technical services sector gained 36,000 jobs. Gains were also seen in accommodation and food services, natural resources, and public administration.

Employment fell by 35,000 in the finance, insurance, real estate and leasing sector, while manufacturing employment slipped by 24,000 for the month.

More immigration workers needed: union

There are thousands of people in Canada waiting for their citizenship applications to be completed, and the Canada Employment Immigration Union says more workers are needed to clear the backlog.

Citizenship and Immigration recently contracted 86 temporary workers to help clear a backlog in citizenship applications at the Sydney, N.S. office. All applications from across Canada are processed there.

The average minimum wait is currently 19 months, up from 15 months in May. CIC says it plans to continue using temporary workers to clear the backlog, if it can find the money.

But the union says it is clear there is a need for more permanent workers at the office. Union spokeswoman Theresa MacInnis told CBC News Wednesday this is the third temporary contract some of these workers have been on since being laid off from permanent work a year and a half ago.

"To me it looks like there is a need for additional workers in the workplace," said MacInnis.

"Stabilizing a workforce is always a benefit for continuing work flows and processing."

MacInnis said the uncertainty has some workers looking for other jobs. She isn't sure what the turnover has been, but she said any training of new employees or people new to this processing wastes time and resources.

The latest contract for the 86 additional staff will expire at the end of March.

CIC expects workers will have processed at least 5,000 citizenship applications by that time. It's not known how much of a dent in the backlog that will make.

Ottawa ramps up efforts to lure tourists to Canada

Bruce Campion-SmithOttawa Bureau chief

GATINEAU, QUE.—There’s no new marketing slogan, no new sales pitch to sell Canada to the world.

But tourism insiders say there was something just as important unveiled Thursday in Ottawa’s long-awaited strategy to woo the world — the promise of some coordination.

From setting airline policy to running national parks and writing the immigration rules, Ottawa has vast influence over an industry that pumps $73 billion a year into the economy and generates 594,500 jobs.

The new strategy sends the message that tourism is a priority for the 15 departments and agencies that have a hand in the industry, said Maxime Bernier, the minister of state for small business and tourism.

“It’s a new beginning for the federal government,” Bernier said Thursday after he unveiled the policy at the Canadian Museum of Civilization.

“All the departments that have an influence on tourism, like transport department, Parks Canada . . . (will) now work together to ensure we are aligned with the same objectives,” Bernier said in an interview.

Industry executives applauded the move to put a spotlight on the tourism sector.

“It is an important announcement for us, not because it fits on a bumper sticker but because for the first time we have a thoughtful and deliberate roadmap,” said David Goldstein, president of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada.

He said few other industries can boost investment and employment across the nation.

“It’s just a great job driver. It’s one of the sectors where you can drive private sector jobs in every region of the country — urban centres, rural communities, even Canada’s North,” Goldstein said.

Some of the strategy’s goals seem modest — a new website, an annual report. It also highlights the need to enhance visa services and improve “border experiences” for arriving visitors.

But the promise to make tourism a focus across government departments was applauded as a good first step.

“It’s very important for us that we have a policy environment that is coordinated,” said Michele McKenzie, president of the Canadian Tourism Commission.

“We see countries that we compete against like Australia, New Zealand. They are world-class in terms of taking an all-of-government approach to tourism.”

Canada can have the “most brilliant marketers” but if would-be tourists have trouble getting a visa or a flight to be able to visit, “we’re going to lose those customers,” she said.

“We’re all competing against new and emerging and exotic destinations . . . This is a fiercely competitive world,” McKenzie said.

The move comes as Canada is trying to regain lost ground in the global battle for tourists. Part of the decline in international visitors is the drop-off in cross-border traffic by Americans deterred by a high Canadian dollar and the sagging economy in the United States.

That’s why Canada has set its sights on attracting more travellers from 11 key markets, including Australia, Brazil, India and Japan. An agreement signed with China last year giving Canada “approved destination status” has already boosted visitors by 24 per cent, Bernier said.

“That’s new visitors, new money, new jobs,” Bernier said.