Don’t be like the media and politicians—actually read StatsCan data on latest job numbers

The media sure likes today’s employment numbers from Statistics Canada. Here are just two examples of this morning’s headlines.

“Canada sees jobs surge in August with 81K new positions” (Global News) and “Canada's economy blows past expectations with gain of 81,100 jobs” (Financial Post).

Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau was quick to share these findings on social media, proclaiming “Great news as Canada blows past expectations, creating more than 81,000 new jobs last month!”

But dig a little deeper and you’ll find a few interesting facts in StatsCan’s employment numbers:

• 96 per cent of the jobs were in two provinces—Ontario and Quebec
• 71 per cent were part-time jobs—that is, of the 81,000 new jobs 57,200 were part-time
• Full-time employment actually decreased by 7,500 jobs for those over 25 years old—this means all full-time growth went to those under 25
• Oh, and women over 25 years old working full-time were the hardest hit, with employment decreasing by 31,500 jobs

Hardly good news, Minister Morneau.