Youth employment accounted for much of the gains in jobs in April, as unemployment for those aged 15 to 24 hit its lowest rate in 43 years, according to Statistics Canada.
The Labour Force Survey for last month said the youth unemployment rate fell to 10.3 per cent as positions for Canada's younger workers grew by 89,000 over the past year. The rate has not been that low since Statistics Canada starting using its current criteria in 1976.
Those over the age of 55 did not fare badly either. About 34,000 jobs went to those workers dipping their unemployment rate by 0.2 per cent.
New jobs for youth accounted for most of the job growth in Ontario as the provincial economy added 47,000 positions. That was not enough to change the unemployment rate. It remained at six per cent.
In Windsor, the labour participation rate rose to 63.4 per cent in April, up half a percentage point from March. The unemployment rate rose slightly to 5.6 per cent, up one per cent from the month before.
Across the country, the economy added 107,000 jobs in April. Over the past year, it has added more than 426,000 positions, most of them full-time, over 248,000 postings.
The national unemployment rate was down slightly last month to 5.7 per cent.
Adjusted to the same criteria used in the U.S., Canada's jobless rate was 4.7 per cent compared to 3.6 per cent across the border. The labour participation rate was 65.8 per cent, slightly better than our American counterparts who had 62.8 per cent. Canada's employment rate was 62.7 per cent compared to 60.6 per cent.