March employment numbers drop by 18,000 from previous month: Quebec Statistics Institute

Workers test a new product on the module assembly line at Lion Electric Company's lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility in Mirabel, Que., Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023. (Christinne Muschi, The Canadian Press)

The public sector came out on top in the latest employment statistics for March 2024 in Quebec. The Quebec Statistics Institute said on Friday that employment rose by 9,300 in March compared with the previous month.

At that time, 1,071,200 people were employed in the public sector.

Meanwhile, the private sector employed 2,954,900 people. This represents a drop of 17,000 from the previous month.

As for self-employed workers, there were 489,100 in March. Again, this represents a fall of 10,300 on the previous month.

Overall, there were 4,515,200 people working in Quebec, down by 18,000 or 0.4 per cent from the previous month.

As a result, different industries and sectors performed very differently.

The biggest falls in employment, in percentage terms, were recorded in accommodation and food services, information, culture and recreation, and transport and storage.

Conversely, in the services sector, the best performers were educational services and finance, insurance, real estate and rental services.

Average earnings in March 2024 were $33.59 per hour and $1,187.33 per week, according to the ISQ.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on April 5, 2024.