Halifax Labour Market Monitor - March 2010
This is an overview of the Halifax Region which includes all of Halifax County. The Labour Market Monitor is a monthly report focusing on Labour Market Information.
Labour Force Trends
The labour force in Halifax grew on a year over year basis, increasing by 2,700. Employment in the region rose by 2,000 - primarily in part time work. With relatively strong labour force growth, the level of unemployment increased by 700 from March 2009 to March 2010, and the unemployment rate rose by 0.3 percentage points to 6.5 percent this month.
For more information, please visit the Statistics Canada website at: www40.statcan.gc.ca/l01/cst01/lfss05b-eng.htm
| Halifax | March | |
|---|---|---|
| Region: 250 | 2009 | 2010 |
| Labour Force (000) | 226.6 | 229.3 |
| Employed (000) | 212.5 | 214.5 |
| Full Time | 173 | 173.4 |
| Part Time | 39.5 | 41.1 |
| Unemployed (000) | 14.1 | 14.8 |
| Participation Rate (%) | 70.9 | 70.8 |
| Unemployment Rate (%) | 6.2 | 6.5 |
| Data is 3 month moving average from the Labour Force Survey, Statistics Canada | ||
Labour Market News by Industry
Construction
Cougar Helicopters hopes to begin construction of a 22,000-square-foot hangar at the airport by the end of April or early May, 2010. (Chronicle-Herald, March 30)
Manufacturing
Nautel, a Hacketts Cove company which designs, manufactures, and supports high-power radio frequency products, will receive a payroll rebate from the province to create up to 20 new positions. The company has a current workforce of 155 employees, and has grown its engineering, sales and marketing, and support staff over the last two years. (Chronicle-Herald, March 31)
Transportation
About 130 cruise ships and 240,000-250,000 passengers are slated to arrive in Halifax from April to October, 2010, which would make it another strong year. However, some concerns have been raised among businesses that the higher Canadian dollar has resulted in less spending by cruise ship passengers in the city. Tour bus operators saw a reduction in travel from the United States in 2009, although they were able to benefit from local tours arranged by the cruise ships. (Chronicle-Herald, March 11)
Halifax-based Jazz Air says it has reached a tentative contract with its 60 dispatchers. The airline has also ratified agreements with its maintenance and engineering workers, and its customer service and aircraft services division over the last few months. Negotiations are continuing with the pilots and flight attendants. (Chronicle-Herald, March 8)
Porter Airlines will begin a Montreal to Halifax non-stop route in June, 2010, with connecting flights from Halifax to St.John's. There will be two daily round trips in the summer, and four weekly round trips after Labour Day. Porter, based in Toronto, currently has routes from Halifax to Toronto and Ottawa. (Chronicle-Herald, March 25)
Finance/Insurance
Insurance firm Royal and Sun Alliance will receive a payroll rebate from the province to create up to 160 new jobs in Nova Scotia. (Chronicle-Herald, March 30)
Health
Workers at five St. Joseph's Children Centre locations in Halifax, members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, voted to back contract demands for higher wages. The workers earn an average of $12 an hour. The government recognizes child-care workers in Nova Scotia are low paid compared to other provinces, but says there may not be a fix this year. (Chronicle-Herald, March 12)
Business,Building and Other Support
Laundry workers with Crothall Services Canada, members of the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union, have voted 93 percent in favour of a strike. The 63 workers provide laundry services for Capital Health in Halifax. However, according to the union, workers directly employed by Capital Health doing the same work earn $7 per hour more and have better benefits. Pay levels for the Crothall workers start at $10.61 per hour. (Chronicle-Herald, March 3)
Education
More than 200 part-time faculty members at Saint Mary's University, belonging to Canadian Union of Public Employees, have ratified a new contract. The deal will run from September 1, 2009 to August 31, 2012 and includes wage increases of 2.9 percent in the first year and two percent in each of the next two years, along with classification adjustments. (Chronicle-Herald, March 12)
The government still plans to fulfill its election promise of adding 250 seats at the Nova Scotia Community College to programs in trades and professions now in demand. No immediate information is available on which campuses or programs will expand. The premier says the community college gets twice as many applicants as available seats. (Chronicle-Herald, March 3)
Other
On April 1, 2010 Nova Scotia's minimum wage rose from $8.60 to $9.20 per hour. The minimum wage for inexperienced workers rose from $8.10 to $8.70 per hour. There will be an additional increase to $9.65 per hour on October 1, 2010. (Various Sources, March 31, 2010)
Note: In preparing this Labour Market Monitor, Service Canada has taken care to provide clients with labour market information from reliable sources that is timely and accurate at the time of publication. Since labour market conditions are dynamic, some of the information presented here may have changed since this document was published. Readers are encouraged to also refer to other sources for additional information on the local economy and labour market. Information contained in this document does not necessarily reflect official policies of Service Canada.For more information please contact your local Labour Market Information Analysts for Halifax:
neill.evans@servicecanada.gc.ca
or
glenn.yetman@servicecanada.gc.ca
or visit our website at: www.labourmarketinformation.ca