Labour Market getting stronger in June 2010

The most recent report released by Stats Canada shows that employment rose by 93,000 in June, pushing the unemployment rate down 0.2 percentage points to 7.9%. This is the first time the rate has been below the 8% mark since January 2009.
Employment has been on an upward trend since July 2009, increasing by 403,000 (+2.4%). These gains offset nearly all the employment losses observed during the labour market downturn which began in the fall of 2008. The June unemployment rate, however, remains well above the October 2008 rate of 6.2%.
Since July 2009, most of the employment gains have been in full-time work, up 355,000 or 2.6%, while part-time work rose by 1.5%.
Notable employment increases in June were in service industries including retail and wholesale trade; business, building and other support services; health care and social assistance; and other services such as automotive repair and personal care services.
In June, there were continued gains in the number of private sector employees. The number of self-employed workers also increased, while there was little change among public sector employees.
Virtually all of June's employment gains were in Ontario (+60,000) and Quebec (+30,000). At the same time, there were declines in Newfoundland and Labrador and New Brunswick. There was little employment change in all other provinces.

Homes Sales down in June

During last month of June, greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 8,442 sales through theMultiple Listing Service® (MLS®).This represented a 23 per cent decrease compared to the record 10,955 sales reported in June 2009. Sales for the second quarter of 2010 amounted to 28,810 – up one percent annually. Year-to-date sales through June were up 23 per cent to 50,455compared to the first six months of 2009.“We experienced a record number of existing home sales during the first half of 2010,but these sales were weighted more towards the beginning of the year,” said newly elected Toronto Real Estate Board President Bill Johnston. “The pace of home sales has moderated from record levels over the past two months with the prospect of higher mortgage rates.”The average price for June transactions was $435,034.