Mr. Speaker, I would like to share very good news concerning job creation and unemployment with the members of this House.
The unemployment rate has dropped to 7.8% from 11,4% in 1993. That is the lowest it has ever been since June 1990. Moreover, in January, employment increased by 87,000 jobs, and all of the gain was in full time work.
This is the seventh consecutive monthly gain, with employment increases over this period averaging 57,000 per month. The youth employment rate fell half a percentage point to 13.9%, the lowest since September 1990. Continuing the trend established in 1998, employment among youth aged 15 to 24 years climbed by an estimated 44,000 in January, with 33,000 of these—