Newfoundland and Labrador Labour Market Bulletin
June 2011
Labour Force Trends – The unemployment rate increased slightly for the second straight month after it had declined almost three percent since last November, but still remains at close-to-historic low levels. While employment levels dropped in the past month, the province’s rate of employment growth over the past year was faster than every other province except Alberta. Virtually all of this increase was full-time in nature.
- A notable decrease in employment and the size of labour force combined to raise the unemployment rate to 12.3% in June. This was the second straight monthly increase in the unemployment rate. The decline in the labour force combined with an unchanged population size brought the labour force participation rate below 60% for the first time since November.
- Youth (15-24 years) and workers 25 and older of both genders all saw declines in employment in June from the previous month. However, over the longer term, the province has been among the leaders in the rate of employment growth across these groups since last June. For example, youth employment grew faster in Newfoundland and Labrador than in any other province.
| Monthly Variation | Yearly Variation | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seasonally Adjusted Monthly Data | June 2011 | May 2011 | June 2010 | Number | % | Number | % |
| Population 15+ ('000) | 428.8 | 429.0 | 427.6 | -0.2 | 0.0% | 1.2 | 0.3% |
| Labour Force ('000) | 252.8 | 259.8 | 253.4 | -7.0 | -2.7% | -0.6 | -0.2% |
| Employment ('000) | 221.6 | 229.0 | 216.5 | -7.4 | -3.2% | 5.1 | 2.4% |
| Full-Time ('000) | 189.4 | 194.3 | 184.4 | -4.9 | -2.5% | 5.0 | 2.7% |
| Part-Time ('000) | 32.2 | 34.7 | 32.1 | -2.5 | -7.2% | 0.1 | 0.3% |
| Unemployment ('000) | 31.2 | 30.9 | 36.9 | 0.3 | 1.0% |
-5.7 | -15.4% |
| Participation Rate (%) | 59.0 | 60.6 | 59.3 | -1.6 | -0.3 | ||
| Unemployment Rate (%) | 12.3 | 11.9 | 14.6 | 0.4 | -2.3 | ||
| Employment Rate (%) | 51.7 | 53.4 | 50.6 | -1.7 | 1.1 | ||
| Total may not add due to rounding Source: Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey – HRSDC Table 087 |
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- Newfoundland and Labrador was behind only Alberta in terms of the rate of employment growth over the past year, up 2.4% from last June. This compares to a 1.4% increase nationally. Of note, virtually all of the increase was in full-time employment.
- Over the past 12 months, the province’s employment increase has been driven by private sector growth, while public employment remained relatively flat, and self-employment decreased.
- The provincial unemployment rate of 12.3% is up from May 2011 but still remains quite low from a longer term perspective. Rates below 13% have not been common until recent months. Even prior to the recession, the unemployment rate had not fallen below 12.3%. Over the past year, the unemployment rate decreased by 2.3 percentage points, better than any other province. However, Newfoundland and Labrador continues to have the highest unemployment rate of all provinces.
Source: Statistics Canada's Labour Force Survey
Employment by Industry – The monthly drop in employment was mainly in the Service sector. Over the year, the province’s strong employment growth was primarily due to Goods-Producing industries.
- In June, most of the monthly employment decrease was in the Service-Producing sector. This was mainly in Trade and Health Care and Social Assistance. In the Goods-Producing sector, overall employment remained relatively flat except for a drop in Forestry, Fishing, Mining and Oil & Gas. This decline is mainly due to lower employment in the fishery.
- Health Care and Social Assistance dropped by over 9% in the past month. This was a significant departure from the industry’s growth experienced in recent years.
- Since June of 2010, Construction employment has risen by 3,800 jobs, a 26% increase. Agriculture added 1,000 jobs; a significant pace of growth. Trade employment increased by 2,700 over last June.
| Monthly Variation | Yearly Variation | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seasonally Adjusted Data ('000) | June 2011 | May 2011 | June 2010 | Number | % | Number | % |
| Total Industry (000) | 221.6 | 229.0 | 216.5 | -7.4 | -3.2% | 5.1 | 2.4% |
| Goods-Producing Sector | 49.4 | 50.0 | 43.4 | -0.6 | -1.2% | 6.0 | 13.8% |
| Agriculture | 2.4 | 1.9 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 26.3% | 1.0 | 71.4% |
| Forestry, Fishing, Mining, Oil & Gas | 15.5 | 17.0 | 15.3 | -1.5 | -8.8% | 0.2 | 1.3% |
| Utilities | 2.2 | 2.2 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0% | 0.2 | 10.0% |
| Construction | 18.7 | 19.1 | 14.9 | -0.4 | -2.1% | 3.8 | 25.5% |
| Manufacturing | 10.6 | 9.8 | 9.9 | 0.8 | 8.2% | 0.7 | 7.1% |
| Services-Producing Sector | 172.2 | 179.0 |
173.1 | -6.8 | -3.8% | -0.9 | -0.5% |
| Trade | 39.8 | 41.8 | 37.1 | -2.0 | -4.8% | 2.7 | 7.3% |
| Transportation & Warehousing | 10.4 | 10.7 | 11.6 | -0.3 | -2.8% | -1.2 | -10.3% |
| Finance, Insurance, Real Estate & Leasing | 7.5 | 7.3 | 9.0 | 0.2 | 2.7% | -1.5 | -16.7% |
| Professional, Scientific & Technical Services | 7.4 | 8.0 | 6.2 | -0.6 | -7.5% | 1.2 | 19.4% |
| Management, Administrative & Other Support | 4.9 | 5.4 | 5.0 | -0.5 | -9.3% | -0.1 | -2.0% |
| Educational Services | 17.9 | 18.6 | 16.8 | -0.7 | -3.8% | 1.1 | 6.5% |
| Health Care & Social Assistance | 33.0 | 36.4 | 36.9 | -3.4 | -9.3% | -3.9 | -10.6% |
| Information, Culture & Recreation | 7.9 | 7.9 | 7.5 | 0.0 | 0.0% | 0.4 | 5.3% |
| Accommodation & Food Services | 11.7 | 12.1 | 12.9 | -0.4 | -3.3% | -1.2 | -9.3% |
| Other Services | 11.8 | 11.4 | 12.1 | 0.4 | 3.5% | -0.3 | -2.5% |
| Public Administration | 19.7 | 19.2 | 18.2 | 0.5 | 2.6% | 1.5 | 8.2% |
| "--" indicates number suppressed due to high sample variance Total may not add due to rounding Source: Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey – HRSDC Table-88 |
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Economic Regions – Over the past year, employment levels increased in all regions. The South Coast - Burin region experienced an increase in the unemployment rate because its labour force grew faster than employment.
- The Avalon Peninsula, which includes the St. John’s area, showed a large decline in the unemployment rate of 3.5 percentage points to 7.8% between June 2010 and June 2011. The reduction in the unemployment rate was caused by a large increase in mostly full-time employment while the size of the labour force shrunk marginally. Most of the employment gain was in the Goods sector, primarily Construction. Trade employment has also grown notably in comparison to the same month last year.
- The South Coast – Burin Peninsula region experienced an increase in the unemployment rate between June 2010 and June 2011 despite an increase in employment. This is because the labour force grew faster than employment, leaving more people looking for work than a year ago. The labour force participation rate rose by 5.1 percentage points to 58.2%. Employment growth was in the Goods sector while Service sector employment declined.
- In the West Coast – Northern Peninsula – Labrador region, the unemployment rate fell by 0.9 percentage points to 17.1% on the strength of full-time employment increases. The size of the labour force and level of employment increased in similar fashions, leaving the number of unemployed relatively unchanged. Employment growth was split fairly evenly between the Goods sector and Services sector.
- The unemployment rate for the Notre Dame – Central – Bonavista Bay region has dropped over the past year, from 20.5% to 16.1%. While employment growth was strong, the size of the labour force was smaller, pushing the unemployment rate further down. Most of the employment growth came from the Services sector.
| Three Month Moving Averages Seasonally Unadjusted Data | June 2011 | June 2010 | Variation | June 2011 | June 2010 | Variation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 1010 - Avalon Peninsula | ||||||
| Population 15+ ('000) | 428.9 | 427.6 | 1.3 | 220.6 | 218.2 | 2.4 | |
| Labour Force ('000) | 260.8 | 260.2 | 0.6 | 144.1 | 145.4 | -1.3 | |
| Employment ('000) | 229.3 | 221.7 | 7.6 | 132.9 | 129.0 | 3.9 | |
| Full-Time ('000) | 194.8 | 188.3 | 6.5 | 113.3 | 110.3 | 3.0 | |
| Part-Time ('000) | 34.5 | 33.3 | 1.2 | 19.6 | 18.7 | 0.9 | |
| Unemployment ('000) | 31.5 | 38.5 | -7.0 | 11.2 | 16.4 | -5.2 | |
| Participation Rate (%) | 60.8 | 60.9 | -0.1 | 65.3 | 66.6 | -1.3 | |
| Unemployment Rate (%) | 12.1 | 14.8 | -2.7 | 7.8 | 11.3 | -3.5 | |
| Employment Rate (%) | 53.5 | 51.8 | 1.7 | 60.2 | 59.1 | 1.1 | |
| 1020 - South Coast - Burin Peninsula | 1030 - West Coast - Northern Peninsula - Labrador | ||||||
| Population 15+ ('000) | 30.6 | 31.1 | -0.5 | 87.0 | 87.2 | -0.2 | |
| Labour Force ('000) | 17.8 | 16.5 | 1.3 | 51.0 | 49.5 | 1.5 | |
| Employment ('000) | 13.8 | 13.3 | 0.5 | 42.3 | 40.7 | 1.6 | |
| Full-Time ('000) | 11.8 | 11.1 | 0.7 | 36.4 | 34.6 | 1.8 | |
| Part-Time ('000) | 2.1 | 2.2 | -0.1 | 5.9 | 6.0 | -0.1 | |
| Unemployment ('000) | 3.9 | 3.2 | 0.7 | 8.7 | 8.9 | -0.2 | |
| Participation Rate (%) | 58.2 | 53.1 | 5.1 | 58.6 | 56.8 | 1.8 | |
| Unemployment Rate (%) | 21.9 | 19.4 | 2.5 | 17.1 | 18.0 | -0.9 | |
| Employment Rate (%) | 45.1 | 42.8 | 2.3 | 48.6 | 46.7 | 1.9 | |
| 1040 - Notre Dame - Central Bonavista Bay | St-John's Nfld. | ||||||
| Population 15+ ('000) | 90.8 | 91.2 | -0.4 | 160.9 | 159.1 | 1.8 | |
| Labour Force ('000) | 47.9 | 48.7 | -0.8 | 111.7 | 109.7 | 2.0 | |
| Employment ('000) | 40.2 | 38.7 | 1.5 | 105.2 | 101.2 | 4.0 | |
| Full-Time ('000) | 33.3 | 32.4 | 0.9 | 90.1 | 86.8 | 3.3 | |
| Part-Time ('000) | 7.0 | 6.3 | 0.7 | 15.1 | 14.4 | 0.7 | |
| Unemployment ('000) | 7.7 | 10.0 | -2.3 | 6.5 | 8.5 | -2.0 | |
| Participation Rate (%) | 52.8 | 53.4 | -0.6 | 69.4 | 69.0 | 0.4 | |
| Unemployment Rate (%) | 16.1 | 20.5 | -4.4 | 5.8 | 7.7 | -1.9 | |
| Employment Rate (%) | 44.3 | 42.4 | 1.9 | 65.4 | 63.6 | 1.8 | |
| Corner Brook | |||||||
| Population 15+ ('000) | 22.2 | 22.3 | -0.1 | ||||
| Labour Force ('000) | 11.6 | 12.0 | -0.4 | ||||
| Employment ('000) | 10.1 | 9.5 | 0.6 | ||||
| Full-Time ('000) | 8.6 | 8.0 | 0.6 | ||||
| Part-Time ('000) | 1.5 | 1.5 | 0.0 | ||||
| Unemployment ('000) | 1.5 | 2.5 | -1.0 | ||||
| Participation Rate (%) | 52.3 | 53.8 | -1.5 | ||||
| Unemployment Rate (%) | 12.9 | 20.8 | -7.9 | ||||
| Employment Rate (%) | 45.5 | 42.6 | 2.9 | ||||
| Notes: "--" indicates number suppressed due to high sample variance Total may not add due to rounding Source: Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey – HRSDC Tables SGEODEM & CITIES |
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Prepared by: Labour Market Information Unit (NL), Service Canada
For more information contact: visit our website at www.workingincanada.gc.ca