August Jobs Report Shows Canada is Nation of Two Job Markets

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Sept. 9, 2016) - Bob Funk, CEO of the international staffing franchise Express Employment Professionals with 37 franchises in Canada, issued today the following statement in response to the latest Statistic Canada Labour Force Survey, which indicated that after a decline in July, employment in Canada edged up in August. The unemployment rate rose 0.1 percentage points to 7 per cent. British Columbia continues to lead the nation with an unemployment rate of 5.5 per cent.

The labour force participation rate, while up slightly, continued to languish at 65.5 per cent, near the low for 2016.

"As we saw with our 2016 Labour Day Hot Job Markets Survey, British Columbia continues to lead the country with a strong jobs market, while the rest of the country continues to show little or no growth," said Bob Funk, CEO and chairman of the board for Express. "Canada is a tale of two job markets: British Columbia and the rest of the nation."

"The labour force participation rate continues to be a concern for Canada. With the number of people in the workforce near the low for the year and the overall trend negative, there is a cause for continued concern," Funk said.

The unemployment rate in Canada was 5.9 per cent in August compared with 4.9 per cent in the United States.

If you would like to arrange for an interview with Bob Funk, please contact Kellie Major at (613) 222-7488.

About Robert A. Funk

Robert A. "Bob" Funk is chairman and chief executive officer of Express Employment Professionals. Headquartered in Oklahoma City, the international staffing company has more than 760 franchises in Canada, the U.S. and South Africa. Under his leadership, Express has put more than 6 million people to work worldwide. Funk served as the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and was also the Chairman of the Conference of Chairmen of the Federal Reserve.

About Express Employment Professionals and Express in Canada

Express Employment Professionals puts people to work. It generated $3.02 billion in sales and employed a record 500,002 people in 2015. Its long-term goal is to put a million people to work annually. Express launched in Canada in July 1996, with a franchise in London, Ontario, and since then, has expanded and grown across Canada significantly. There are currently 37 Express franchises in Canada-six in British Columbia, five in Alberta, two in Saskatchewan, 23 in Ontario and one in Nova Scotia.