Newfoundland and Labrador Labour Market Brief
October 2011
Labour Force Trends – Employment gains outpaced growth in the Labour Force in October. As a result the unemployment rate decreased to 12.9%. Employment levels remains strong from a longer term perspective.
- In October, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased to 12.9% from 13.5% a month earlier as employment grew faster than the labour force. Both full-time and part-time employment showed an increase.
| Monthly Variation | Yearly Variation | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seasonally Adjusted Monthly Data | Oct |
Sept 2011 | Oct 2010 | Number | % |
Number | % |
| Population 15+ ('000) | 428.5 | 428.5 | 428.6 | 0.0 | 0.0% | -0.1 | 0.0% |
| Labour Force ('000) | 257.6 | 254.6 | 255.8 | 3.0 | 1.2% | 1.8 | 0.7% |
| Employment ('000) | 224.3 | 220.2 | 222.2 | 4.1 | 1.9% | 2.1 | 0.9% |
| Full-Time ('000) | 189.9 | 187.6 | 190.5 | 2.3 | 1.2% | -0.6 | -0.3% |
| Part-Time ('000) | 34.4 | 32.7 | 31.6 | 1.7 | 5.2% | 2.8 | 8.9% |
| Unemployment ('000) | 33.2 | 34.4 | 33.6 | -1.2 | -3.5% |
-0.4 | -1.2% |
| Unemployment Rate (%) | 12.9 | 13.5 | 13.1 | -0.6 | -0.2 | ||
| Participation Rate (%) | 60.1 | 59.4 | 59.7 | 0.7 | 0.4 | ||
| Employment Rate (%) | 52.3 | 51.4 | 51.8 | 0.9 | 0.5 | ||
| Total may not add due to rounding Source: Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey – HRSDC Table 087 |
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- Compared to 12 months ago, the seasonally adjusted figures show an increase of 2,100 jobs. As the labour force grew at a slightly slower pace, the province’s unemployment rate is down 0.2 percentage points from a year ago. The increase in jobs is attributed to part-time employment growth over the year. Full-time employment showed little change from last October.
Employment by Industry – Employment gains in October were split between the goods and service sectors. The goods-producing sector has driven growth over the year.
- The goods-producing and service-producing sectors shared October’s employment gains. Construction remained quite strong, showing an increase of 1,100 jobs in the month. Trade declined while Professional, Scientific and Technical Services reached a record high.
- Over the past twelve months, most of the province’s employment growth has been in the goods-producing sector, led by Construction. Forestry, Fishing, Mining and Oil & Gas showed a notable decline. The service-producing sector appears relatively unchanged overall. Notable declines were reported in Trade and Health and Social Assistance while Professional, Scientific and Technical Services increased considerably.
| Monthly Variation | Yearly Variation | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seasonally Adjusted Data ('000) | Oct 2011 | Sept 2011 | Oct 2010 |
Number | % | Number | % |
| Total Industry (000) | 224.3 | 220.2 | 222.2 | 4.1 | 1.9% | 2.1 | 0.9% |
| Goods-Producing Sector | 47.9 | 45.9 | 45.3 | 2.0 | 4.4% | 2.6 | 5.7% |
| Agriculture | 2.1 | 2.1 | 2.3 | 0.0 | 0.0% | -0.2 | -8.7% |
| Forestry, Fishing, Mining, Oil & Gas | 14.2 | 14.1 | 16.5 | 0.1 | 0.7% | -2.3 | -13.9% |
| Utilities | 2.1 | 1.9 | 1.7 | 0.2 | 10.5% | 0.4 | 23.5% |
| Construction | 19.3 | 18.2 | 15.7 | 1.1 | 6.0% | 3.6 | 22.9% |
| Manufacturing | 10.1 | 9.6 | 9.1 | 0.5 | 5.2% | 1.0 | 11.0% |
| Services-Producing Sector | 176.4 | 174.3 |
176.9 | 2.1 | 1.2% | -0.5 | -0.3% |
| Trade | 36.0 | 37.7 | 39.5 | -1.7 | -4.5% | -3.5 | -8.9% |
| Transportation & Warehousing | 10.1 | 10.1 | 10.6 | 0.0 | 0.0% | -0.5 | -4.7% |
| Finance, Insurance, Real Estate & Leasing | 8.6 | 8.6 | 7.2 | 0.0 | 0.0% | 1.4 | 19.4% |
| Professional, Scientific & Technical Services | 10.3 | 8.9 | 7.8 | 1.4 | 15.7% | 2.5 | 32.1% |
| Management, Administrative & Other Support | 5.9 | 5.6 | 5.6 | 0.3 | 5.4 | 0.3 | 5.4% |
| Educational Services | 18.3 | 17.5 | 16.8 | 0.8 | 4.6% | 1.5 | 8.9% |
| Health Care & Social Assistance | 34.2 | 35.1 | 36.9 | -0.9 | -2.6% | -2.7 | -7.3% |
| Information, Culture & Recreation | 7.9 | 7.1 | 8.3 | 0.8 | 11.3% | -0.4 | -4.8% |
| Accommodation & Food Services | 13.0 | 12.1 | 13.1 | 0.9 | 7.4% | -0.1 | -0.8% |
| Other Services | 11.6 | 11.5 | 11.7 | 0.1 | 0.9% | -0.1 | -0.9% |
| Public Administration | 20.6 | 20.3 | 19.4 | 0.3 | 1.5% | 1.2 | 6.2% |
| "--" 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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- The unadjusted industry data shows growth in goods-producing industries offsetting small losses in the service sector over the past year. In the goods sector, gains were made in Construction and Mining and Oil & Gas while Fishing showed a decline. Trade was down slightly from last October while Social Assistance was the driver behind a decline in Health Care and Social Assistance. Professional, Scientific and Technical Services has shown notable growth, led by increases in engineering, design and other such technical services. These can be mainly attributed to large-scale projects underway in mining and oil and gas. (Source: Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey – HRSDC SGEOIND & INDNL).
Economic Regions – Results were mixed across the province. Employment and labour force size increased in two economic regions over the past year while the other two regions showed a decline. South Coast – Burin Peninsula was the only region to show a notable increase in the unemployment rate from a year ago. This has been the case since August.
- In the Avalon Peninsula, which includes the St. John’s area, the unemployment rate showed a small increase from 9.6% twelve months ago to 9.8% this October. The unemployment rate was higher because the labour force grew slightly faster than employment. Professional, Scientific and Technical Services, Public Administration and Construction showed notable gains from a year ago, while employment in Trade and Health Care and Social Assistance had the largest decreases.
- The South Coast – Burin Peninsula region’s unemployment rate in October was 20.5%. This was an increase of 2.6 percentage points from a year ago. Employment losses exceeded the decline in the size of the labour force, leaving more people looking for work than a year ago. Of note, the employment losses were full-time in nature. Job losses were evenly spread between the goods-producing and service-producing sectors. A local shipyard has been idle for a prolonged period and labour unrest has kept a fish plant closed in recent months.
- In the West Coast – Northern Peninsula – Labrador region, the unemployment rate fell by 0.9 percentage points over the last twelve months to 13.4% on the strength of full-time employment increases. Employment grew faster than the expanding labour force, lowering the number of unemployed workers. Employment growth was mainly in the Goods sector.
- The unemployment rate for the Notre Dame – Central – Bonavista Bay region was relatively unchanged from twelve months earlier. Labour force as well as employment levels dropped at a similar pace. Job losses were full-time in nature. In recent months, employment levels have dropped over the same time a year ago. This has been mainly in the service-producing sector. Construction employment continued to show notable growth over twelve months ago. This has been the case since the spring.
| Three Month Moving Averages Seasonally Unadjusted Data | Oct |
Oct 2010 | Variation | Oct |
Oct 2010 |
Variation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 1010 - Avalon Peninsula | ||||||
| Population 15+ ('000) | 428.5 | 428.3 | 0.2 | 220.9 | 219.1 | 1.8 | |
| Labour Force ('000) | 260.9 | 261.2 | -0.3 | 145.0 | 143.1 | 1.9 | |
| Employment ('000) | 228.9 | 229.5 | -0.6 | 130.8 | 129.5 | 1.3 | |
| Full-Time ('000) | 196.6 | 199.2 | -2.6 | 112.3 | 111.5 | 0.8 | |
| Part-Time ('000) | 32.3 | 30.3 | 2.0 | 18.4 | 17.9 | 0.5 | |
| Unemployment ('000) | 32.0 | 31.7 | 0.3 | 14.2 | 13.7 | 0.5 | |
| Participation Rate (%) | 60.9 | 61.0 | -0.1 | 65.6 | 65.3 | 0.3 | |
| Unemployment Rate (%) | 12.3 | 12.1 | 0.2 | 9.8 | 9.6 | 0.2 | |
| Employment Rate (%) | 53.4 | 53.6 | -0.2 | 59.2 | 59.1 | 0.1 | |
| 1020 - South Coast - Burin Peninsula | 1030 - West Coast - Northern Peninsula - Labrador | ||||||
| Population 15+ ('000) | 30.4 | 30.9 | -0.5 | 86.7 | 87.2 | -0.5 | |
| Labour Force ('000) | 16.6 | 17.9 | -1.3 | 50.9 | 50.4 | 0.5 | |
| Employment ('000) | 13.2 | 14.7 | -1.5 | 44.1 | 43.2 | 0.9 | |
| Full-Time ('000) | 11.3 | 13.1 | -1.8 | 38.4 | 37.8 | 0.6 | |
| Part-Time ('000) | 1.9 | 1.6 | 0.3 | 5.7 | 5.4 | 0.3 | |
| Unemployment ('000) | 3.4 | 3.2 | 0.2 | 6.8 | 7.2 | -0.4 | |
| Participation Rate (%) | 54.6 | 57.9 | -3.3 | 58.7 | 57.8 | 0.9 | |
| Unemployment Rate (%) | 20.5 | 17.9 | 2.6 | 13.4 | 14.3 | -0.9 | |
| Employment Rate (%) | 43.4 | 47.6 | -4.2 | 50.9 | 49.5 | 1.4 | |
| 1040 - Notre Dame - Central Bonavista Bay | St-John's Nfld. | ||||||
| Population 15+ ('000) | 90.5 | 91.1 | -0.6 | 161.3 | 159.8 | 1.5 | |
| Labour Force ('000) | 48.3 | 49.7 | -1.4 | 114.0 | 111.2 | 2.8 | |
| Employment ('000) | 40.8 | 42.1 | -1.3 | 105.8 | 102.6 | 3.2 | |
| Full-Time ('000) | 34.6 | 36.8 | -2.2 | 91.3 | 88.3 | 3.0 | |
| Part-Time ('000) | 6.2 | 5.4 | 0.8 | 14.5 | 14.3 | 0.2 | |
| Unemployment ('000) | 7.5 | 7.6 | -0.1 | 8.2 | 8.7 | -0.5 | |
| Participation Rate (%) | 53.4 | 54.6 | -1.2 | 70.7 | 69.6 | 1.1 | |
| Unemployment Rate (%) | 15.5 | 15.3 | 0.2 | 7.2 | 7.8 | -0.6 | |
| Employment Rate (%) | 45.1 | 46.2 | -1.1 | 65.6 | 64.2 | 1.4 | |
| 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 |
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For further information, please contact:
Jamie Grant
Economist
Labour Market Information Unit (NL), Service Canada
(709) 772-3165
jamie.grant@servicecanada.gc.ca
Please note that labour market news summaries are now available in separate publications for each region of the province, called the Labour Market Monitor.
About the Local Labour Market