Toronto, Vancouver are creating all Canada's job growth

Blistering hot housing markets aren'tthe only things setting Toronto and Vancouver apart from the rest of Canada the two cities also accounted for all of the country's job growth, economists say.

"Yes, that means the rest of thecountry has created precisely no new jobs inthe past year," BMO chief economist Douglas Porter said in a recent commentary.

The situation is "extremely unusual" given that two cities account for25 per cent oftotal employment in Canada, Porter said.

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He added that this highlights the "extremeregional divergence" inthe Canadianeconomy, and that the strong job growth in Toronto and Vancouver "atleast partly explains thestrength in their housing markets."

BMO also pointed out in an earlier report thatB.C. postedannual job growth of almost five per cent, and the province has seenits jobless rate drop to a national low of 5.8 per cent in April.

That's the first time since1975 thatthe province hashad the lowest unemployment rate in the country, BMO said.

"And why not? We're expecting 3.3 per cent real GDP growth in the province this year, more than twice the national average," said Robert Kavcic, senior economist at the bank.

Kavcicadded that B.C.created 110,000of Canada's 144,000net new jobs in the past year through April,and the labour force is surging on the back of population inflows and rising participation rates.

Overall employment in B.C.jumped4.9 per cent in the past year, while Ontario was second in the country, but "way back" at 1.4 per cent, Kavcic said.

Recent numbersfrom the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver indicated the benchmark price for a detached home in the Vancouver has climbed 30.1 per cent, to $1.4-million, in past year.

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