On Canada's 150th Quebec Dominates Labour Day Hot Jobs Report

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Aug. 30, 2017) - In the run up to Labour Day 2017, the nation's hottest job markets are concentrated in the province of Quebec.

The 4th Annual Express Employment Professionals "Top 50 Hot Job Markets in Canada" report, released today, shows La Belle Province dominates the rankings of municipalities and major Canadian cities as calculated by available jobs per 1,000 population. Quebec is also the hottest job market in terms of the number of available jobs by province.

The highest number of advertised jobs in Quebec were available in the categories of "retail sales persons and sales clerks" followed by "material handlers."

"As we approach Labour Day 2017, based on our conversations with employers, the state of labour in the nation is generally strong. Quebec-the greater Montreal area, in particular-is showing positive momentum. In fact, we see stronger job markets across the country," said Bob Funk, CEO of Express Employment Professionals, which has 37 franchises across Canada. "If there is one concern we would highlight, it's in fact that businesses are having a hard time finding workers."

The Top Line Results of the Express Employment Labour Day Report (https://www.expresspros.com/uploadedFiles/Corporate/Corporate_Canada/CA/Newsroom/Canada_Employed/Documents/Canada-Hot-Jobs.PDF):

• Hottest Job Market - Saint-Hyacinthe, QC
• Hottest Major City - Vancouver (population over 250,000)
• Hottest Province - Quebec

Every year prior to Labour Day, Express breaks down available jobs on Canada's Job Bank by municipality to capture a detailed and granular picture of the nation's job markets. Even provinces with high official unemployment rates can have pockets of hot job markets.

The 2017 Express Labour Day report reaffirms the latest July 2017 Statistics Canada Labour Survey numbers, which point to a jobs boom in Quebec. According to Statistics Canada, Quebec has an unemployment rate of 5.8 per cent, one of the lowest in the nation and the lowest rate for the province since 1976.

Vancouver, last year's hottest major city, topped the list again in 2017. British Columbia, which dominated the 2016 rankings, continues to rank high with Victoria, the District of North Vancouver, Vancouver and Kelowna among the top 25 ranked municipalities overall.

The hottest job markets in Ontario are Newmarket, Mississauga, Brantford and Barrie.

2017 Hottest Job Markets (Major Canadian Cities over 250,000 people):

	1.	Vancouver, BC	2.82 jobs available/1,000
	2.	Laval, QC	2.71
	3.	Edmonton, AB	2.70
	4.	Montreal, QC	2.64
	5.	Gatineau, QC	2.52
	6.	Mississauga, ON	2.46

2017 Hottest Job Markets (Provinces):

	1.	Quebec	4.45 jobs available/1,000
	2.	PEI	3.32
	3.	Saskatchewan	3.09
	4.	Alberta	2.18
	5.	Nova Scotia	2.07
		British Columbia	2.07

In Saskatchewan, Regina (15) and Saskatoon (21) round out the top 25.

Notable in the provincial numbers is the return of Alberta markets, despite a Statistics Canada provincial unemployment rate of 7.8 per cent in July 2017. Wood Buffalo (better known as Fort McMurray) and Grand Prairie rank 16 and 17 on the list of hot job markets, respectively.

2017 Ranking of Canadian Municipalities by Number of Available Jobs per 1,000 Population

	1		Saint-Hyacinthe	QC	11.35
	2		Drummondville	QC	10.98
	3		Brossard	QC	10.97
	4		Levis	QC	7.79
	5		Granby	QC	7.54
	6		Saint-Jerome	QC	6.48
	7		Trois Rivieres	QC	6.43
	8		Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu	QC	5.42
	9		Sherbrooke	QC	5.41
	10		Mirabel	QC	5.01
	11		Terrebonne	QC	5.01
	12		Longueuil	QC	4.93
	13		Victoria	BC	4.71
	14		Moncton	NB	4.4
	15		Regina	SK	4.4
	16		Wood Buffalo	AB	4.01
	17		Grande Prairie	AB	4
	18		Saguenay	QC	3.34
	19		Repentigny	QC	3.33
	20		Shawinigan	QC	3.28
	21		Saskatoon	SK	3.24
	22		North Vancouver DM	BC	2.97
	23		Vancouver	BC	2.82
	24		Kelowna	BC	2.73
	25		Laval	QC	2.71
	26		Edmonton	AB	2.7
	27		Fredericton	NB	2.69
	28		Montreal	QC	2.64
	29		Saint John	NB	2.61
	30		Red Deer	AB	2.6
	31		Newmarket	ON	2.59
	32		Coquitlam	BC	2.55
	33		Richmond	BC	2.52
	34		Gatineau	QC	2.52
	35		Delta	BC	2.5
	36		Mississauga	ON	2.46
	37		Brantford	ON	2.42
	38		Barrie	ON	2.42
	39		Langley	BC	2.42
	40		New Westminster	BC	2.41
	41		Waterloo	ON	2.3
	42		Guelph	ON	2.25
	43		Abbotsford	BC	2.22
	44		Prince George	BC	2.21
	45		Quebec	QC	2.18
	46		Burnaby	BC	2.17
	47		Lethbridge	AB	2.16
	48		Oakville	ON	2.14
	49		Niagara Falls	ON	2.12
	50		St. John's	NL	2.09
			Kamloops	BC	2.09
			Medicine Hat	AB	2.09

If you would like to arrange for an interview to discuss this topic, please contact Kellie Major at (613) 222-7488 or email kellie@mapleleafstrategies.com.

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 780 franchises in the U.S., Canada and South Africa. Under his leadership, Express has put more than 6 million people to work worldwide. Funk served as Chairman of the Conference of Chairmen of the Federal Reserve and was also the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.

About Express Employment Professionals

Express Employment Professionals puts people to work. It generated $3.05 billion in sales and employed a record 510,000 people in 2016. Its long-term goal is to put a million people to work annually. For more information, visit ExpressPros.com.