Labour Market Bulletin - Northern Nova Scotia

March 2009*

Overview (Source: http://www40.statcan.gc.ca/l01/cst01/lfss05b-eng.htm)

For the fifth straight month, Northern Nova Scotia employment decreased.  These declines are quite normal seasonal occurrences from lower economic activity in the colder months.  However, the 2,100 jobs lost this month is the largest employment decline for any March in at least the last 20 years.  Most of the job losses (81%) were full-time positions.  The labour force also decreased in March but by less than the employment decline. This added to the number of unemployed and ensured a rise in March’s unemployment rate.

Employment is also lower than it was in March of 2008.  The jobs lost over the past year are all full-time, some of which have been replaced with part-time positions.  Unemployment is up from last year at this time as is the unemployment rate.

Industry Analysis

Employment in the Goods Sector is down from February and from March of last year.  In both time periods, it is the Construction and Manufacturing industry groups that experienced the job losses. 

The Service Sector also saw an overall employment decline this March.  Employment in the sector is up from last March, though.  The greatest employment decline in March was in the Trade industry group.  Employment is also down in this industry from March 2008.  Education also saw some job loss from February but employment is up from last year.  The largest employment gains over the last 12 month period were in Accommodation & Food Services and in Health Care.  Professional, Scientific & Technical Services saw the biggest decline when comparing this March’s employment level with that of March 2008.

*This report is an analysis of three month moving average data from Statistics Canada’s monthly Labour Force Survey.  Thereader should be cautioned that because of relatively small sample sizes in subprovincial regions, data reliability may be an issue.

In the News

A Telecare program is being launched in Nova Scotia to provide health care information by phone.  Registered nurses will be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to provide health information to callers.  McKesson Canada won a 3-year contract to run the program for the province and will hire 15 full-time and 12 part-time telehealth nurses, as well as, support staff.    Various sources, March 25, 2009

In Pictou County, a regional sports centre project received $22 million in funding from federal and provincial governments.  Local municipalities and groups are also contributing funds to the $36 million project.   Construction will take two years.  The News, March 28, 2009

Northern Pulp has received a $15 million loan from Nova Scotia's Industrial Expansion Fund.  It will be used for maintenance and improvements to the pulp mill, which was built in 1967.  Various Sources, March 27, 2009

TeleTech Amherst will hire up to 200 additional inbound customer support agents in anticipation of growth in the near future.         Information and applications are available on their website at: www.hirepoint.com March 18, 2009

In response to a slowing economy, Convergy’s call centre in Truro has cutback it’s expenses by freezing the company contributions to their employee pensions as of July 1 and the number of paid holidays are being reduced from 10 to six, in keeping with the provincial minimum for statutory holidays.  The centre employs more than 500 workers and no layoffs have been announced at the site. Truro Daily News, March 3, 2009

The Bayview Memorial Health Care Centre is planning for expansion that will include a new $70,000 Primary Health Care Centre with facilities for Advocate’s nurse practitioner. The hospital will also expand with space for two extra long term care beds, physiotherapy and a storage area. Groundbreaking for the expansion project is expected to begin in late spring or early summer, once finalization of the project is complete.    The Amherst Citizen, Mar 14, 2009

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