Labour Market Monitor - Halifax
September 2010
This is an overview of the Halifax Region which includes all of Halifax County. It consists of dense urban areas, as well as less populated communities. The Halifax County line starts along the coast just west of Hubbards and runs along the coast including Dartmouth, Lawrencetown, Tangier, Sheet Harbour, and Moser River. Communities along the top of the border include Enfield, Milford, Upper Musqoudoboit, and Dean.
The Labour Market Monitor is a monthly report focusing on Labour Market Information.
Labour Force Trends
Employment in Halifax increased by 1,700 in September 2010 compared with the same month last year. This increase reflects a large increase in part-time work of 5,700, which more than offset a significant decrease of 4,000 full time workers. The employment growth outpaced relatively weak labour force growth over the period, and the level of unemployment fell by 1,100 on a year over year basis. The unemployment rate declined from 7.2 percent in September 2009 to 6.7 percent in September 2010.
For more information, please visit the Statistics Canada website at: www40.statcan.gc.ca/l01/cst01/lfss05b-eng.htm
| Halifax | September | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Region: 1250 | 2009 | 2010 | Change |
| Labour Force (000) | 233.2 | 232.5 | 0.7 |
| Employed (000) | 217.5 | 215.8 | 1.7 |
| Full Time | 178.5 | 182.5 | -4.0 |
| Part Time | 39.0 | 33.3 | 5.7 |
| Unemployed (000) | 15.7 | 16.8 | -1.1 |
| Participation Rate (%) | 71.5 | 72.3 | -0.8 |
| Unemployment Rate (%) | 6.7 | 7.2 | -0.5 |
| Data is 3 month moving average from the Labour Force Survey, Statistics Canada | |||
Labour Market News by Industry
Utilities
Mount St. Vincent University will switch from burning oil to natural gas as Heritage Gas continues to expand its network in the region. The move will allow expansion to nearby residential areas as well. The provincial government says it would like to see more institutions switch to natural gas and supports this through its energy strategy. (Chronicle-Herald, Sept.29)
Construction
PCL Construction of Dartmouth has been awarded a contract to construct a new headquarters for the Coast Guard. The facility will be built near the Bedford Institute of Oceanography and is expected to open in November 2011, replacing the current Parker Street base. It will include an office building and shipyard to accommodate vessels. (Chronicle-Herald, Sept.13)
Westwood Developments Ltd. plans to construct a $10-million four-storey office building at the intersection of Birmingham Street and Spring Garden Road in Halifax in the space now occupied by Sock it to Ya and Furs & Leathers by Seymour. According to the company, a national tenant has been lined up and it will be the first major project on Spring Garden Road in over 20 years. No time frames were available. (Chronicle-Herald, Sept.21)
Manufacturing
Employment has jumped from about 325 to 750 skilled tradesmen at the Irving Shipyard in Halifax over the last year. The yard has been busy with Coast Guard, Navy, and supply vessel contracts. (Chronicle-Herald, Sept.3)
Canadian Marine Engineering Ltd. of Dartmouth (www.cmelimited.com) has signed more than $2.8 million in contracts for repair and maintenance on navy ships, submarines, and coast guard vessels. The company, which employs 120 people, is also scheduled to begin work on the second of three Metro Transit ferries as part of a three-year, three-ferry contract. Work will be done at the Sambro facility. (Chronicle-Herald, Sept.30)
Trade
Calgary-based Bedroom Depot has entered into bankruptcy, which will affect its six locations across Canada including those in Halifax, Dartmouth, and Lower Sackville. It was unclear how many employees would be affected. (Chronicle-Herald, Sept.1)
Transportation and Warehousing
Fourty-three Jazz Air crew schedulers, represented by the Canadian Auto Workers, have ratified a three-year contract. Several other agreements have been reached between unions and Jazz Air over the last year, including those with pilots, flight attendants, and technical services employees. (Chronicle-Herald, Sept.15)
Information and Culture
Workers at Bell Aliant call centres in Atlantic Canada have ratified a four-year deal which will see the company forgo plans announced in July to close three of five call centres in the region. The workers will also receive a 1.75 percent wage increase which takes place at the beginning of 2011, as well as provisions around post-retirement benefits and reductions in the use of contractors. About 1,100 people are employed at Bell Aliant call centres in Halifax, Charlottetown, Moncton, Saint John, and Mount Pearl. (Chronicle-Herald, Sept.16)
The number of animation jobs in Nova Scotia has gone from 800 to 75 because of changes to the way the film tax credit system is calculated according to the Digital Animators of Nova Scotia. Film Nova Scotia supports the association's idea of eliminating a production cap and moving to a labour-based credit system to rejuvenate the animation sector. The government of Nova Scotia challenges the association's claim that the calculation system had changed. (Chronicle-Herald, Sept.17)
DHX Media Ltd., a Halifax production company, has experienced a drop in revenues in 2010 as fewer buyers ordered TV shows due to a decline in advertising revenues at the height of the recession. However, the company has great expectations for the United States launch of its animated preschool program Animal Mechanicals produced by its subsidiary Halifax Film, and is optimistic it can return to 2009 production levels within the year. (Chronicle-Herald, Sept.28)
Finance and insurance
The Admiral Group, an international automobile insurance company, would like to add about 90 entry level workers to its Halifax call centre before Christmas, 2010. The company says it is recruiting non-stop, and currently has about 260 people working at its Bayers Road location. Salaries start at $24,000 per year. (Chronicle-Herald, Sept.1)
Public Administration
The justice minister announced that several measures will be put in place by the end of March 2011 to improve conditions at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Dartmouth. The measures will include the hiring of 30 part-time correctional officers. (Chronicle-Herald, Sept.14)
Economic Conditions
The minimum wage in Nova Scotia rose from $9.20 to $9.65 on October 1, 2010. (Chronicle-Herald, Oct.1)
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