Labour Market Update - Halifax
October, 2009*
Overview
(Source: http://www40.statcan.gc.ca/l01/cst01/lfss05b-eng.htm)
October employment declines but still at a record high
•The number of people employed full-time in Halifax diminished in October. Part-time jobs increased in number during the month but the gains were fewer than the full-time losses. This resulted in an overall employment decline from September’s level.
•Despite fewer jobs, the number of unemployed decreased because of a labour force decline. This brought October’s unemployment rate down as well.
•An employment decline in October has been usual for Halifax. This was not the case in 2007 and 2008, however. Employment was on an upward trend during the latter part of those years. This year, employment peaked in July and then began a decline which is more in line with the seasonal trends of the years before 2007.
•Although employment rose in October the last two years and fell this year, employment is still at a record level for any October.
•The Goods sector has been experiencing the job losses, over the month and over the last year, particularly in Construction and Manufacturing. The Service sector has shown growth in these time frames but Trade suffered some job losses during October.
*This report is an analysis of three month moving average data from Statistics Canada’s monthly Labour Force Survey. The reader should be cautioned that because of relatively small sample sizes in subprovincial regions, data reliability may be an issue.
In the News
The multimillion-dollar King's Wharf project slated for the Dartmouth waterfront was officially unveiled this month. The developer, Fares Real Estate Inc., expects the work on the first phase of the project will start before the end of the year. The project will have a 30 storey condo tower with 1,293 condominiums, a 200-room hotel and convention centre, hotel condo suites, 100,000 square feet of mixed retail space and 40,000 square feet of commercial space. The development will cost $300 million over five years, create nearly 700 jobs annually during construction, and pay-out nearly $25 million in annual wages. (Chronicle Herald - Oct 19, 2009)
SheepDogInc.ca, a Halifax company offering web services, announced this month that it plans to hire at least 60 people under a five-year, $700,000 provincial payroll-rebate program. The company, operating out of Bayers Lake Business Park, wants to establish itself as a key service provider for Google Apps within the rapidly evolving cloud computing marketplace. Clouds provide users with services like email, calendaring, word processing and spreadsheet services from remote locations. SheepDog is looking for people with a cloud computing background or in related information technology fields. (Chronicle Herald - Oct 16, 2009)
The
2011 Canada Winter Games being hosted in Halifax are estimated to generate up to $90 million in economic spin-offs, as well as the construction of new facilities and the upgrade of current facilities. The largest facility being built is the $42- million Canada Games Centre now under construction on Mainland Common. EllisDon Corp. (
www.ellisdon.com) is the main contractor for the facility, which requires on average about 200 to 220 journeymen. Once the Canada Games Centre is operational, the new facility will create about 250 permanent full- and part-time jobs. Hosting the Games will be a boost to tourism at a slow time of the year, which the host society anticipates will draw 7,000 to 10,000 visitors to the city. (
Chronicle Herald - Oct 19, 2009)
Enligna Canada (
www.enligna.de/en/), an Upper Musquodoboit wood pellet manufacturer, has received a $2.4-million term loan from
Nova Scotia Business Inc. to upgrade and improve its pellet mill facilities. The business uses sawmill chipping waste and other wood by-products to make wood pellets that generate heat and power. According to the president of Enligna Canada, the demand for wood pellets is growing globally, and the financing will help the company purchase new machinery to meet growing international demand. Enligna employs 58 people and has expanded its operations on the former MacTara site. (
Chronicle Herald - Oct 8, 2009)
Nurse Next Door Home Healthcare Services (
www.nursenextdoor.com), a provider of health care for seniors at home, opened in Halifax this month. The franchised operation will hire at least 20 health-care professionals within the next 12 months, including licenced care providers and registered nurses. According to the general manager of Nurse Next Door, their pay scales closely match those at Capital District Health Authority. (
Chronicle Herald - Oct 1, 2009)
For more information please contact . . .
Gary Hartlin
