The province’s services sector suffered the most losses over the past month (-17,800), mainly in trade (-6,800), public administration (-3,700), business, building and other support services (-3,100) and educational services
(-2,800), while considerable gains were reported in professional, scientific and technical services (+ 5,300), finance, insurance, real estate and leasing (+ 1,500) and information, culture and recreation (+ 1,100).

Meanwhile, Quebec’s goods-producing sector produced positive results in December with a net total of 7,200 new jobs. Increases were reported in construction (+ 6,900), manufacturing (+ 6,500) and natural resources (+ 1,700), while layoffs were reported in agriculture (-5,600) and public administration (-2,500).

Over the past year, employment in Quebec has grown by 2.4 %.

The Jobboom Index measures job market strength on a monthly basis and compares this performance over the past 120 months. This month’s index ranks 7th out of 120, meaning there were 113 months with weaker indices over the past 10 years. From December 1997 to December 2007, employment in Quebec has grown by 20.7 %.