Based on the data in the accompanying tables, Victoria B.C. is clearly the place to be these days if you wish to be gainfully employed. That city is leading the country both in terms of high job growth (+4.7%) and low unemployment rate (only 3.2%). Overall, among all the major urban centres in Canada, the West is continuing to shine in terms of low unemployment rates. Eight of the “top ten” cities in terms of low unemployment rates are in western Canada. In terms of job creation, however, the East is starting to make some inroads.

Five eastern cities are among the “top ten” with respect to year-over-year job creation − St. Catharines-Niagara (+3.9%), Ottawa-Gatineau (+3.4%), Oshawa (+2.8%), Kitchener (+2.4%) and St. John’s (+2.4%). Interestingly, two of those five − St. Catharines and Oshawa − are traditionally thought of as (former) Big Three auto towns. On the downside, too many Québec and Ontario cities occupy lower-rung positions on both lists. Montréal (7.5%) and Toronto (7.0%) are particularly disappointing when it comes to their high unemployment rates.

CanaData also does a separate ranking (not shown) which is a composite of both employment growth and unemployment rate. According to this measure, six of the top ten labour markets in the country are either provincial capitals or the federal capital. Victoria, Edmonton and Regina are the first three cities on this composite list, followed by Ottawa-Gatineau in sixth spot, Québec City in eighth and Winnipeg in tenth. Year-over-year employment growth in the public sector currently stands at +6.5% versus an almost non-existent +0.2% in the private sector.

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