Labour Market Monitor - Northern Nova Scotia
June 2011
This is an overview of the Northern Region which includes Cumberland, Colchester, Pictou, Antigonish and Guysborough Counties. The Labour Market Monitor is a monthly report providing information on labour market developments for specific regions within the province.
Labour Force Trends
Although employment levels in Northern Nova Scotia were higher in June compared to a year earlier, a slightly larger influx of workers into the labour force resulted in an increase in the number of unemployed workers in the area and a 0.7 point increase in the unemployment rate. The unemployment rate for Northern Nova Scotia for June 2011was 8.9%.
For more information, please visit the Statistics Canada website at: www40.statcan.gc.ca/l01/cst01/lfss05b-eng.htm
| Northern NS | June | |
|---|---|---|
| Region: 220 | 2010 | 2011 |
| Labour Force (000) | 77.8 | 79.4 |
| Employed (000) | 71.4 | 72.4 |
| Full Time | 57.9 | 59.1 |
| Part Time | 13.5 | 13.3 |
| Unemployed (000) | 6.4 | 7.1 |
| Participation Rate (%) | 59.8 | 61.1 |
| Unemployment Rate (%) | 8.2 | 8.9 |
| Data is 3 month moving average from the Labour Force Survey, Statistics Canada | ||
Labour Market News by Industry
Accommodation and Food Services
Stone Soup Cafe is now open in downtown Pictou at 41 Water Street. The cafe offers a varied menu the owners say is designed to complement rather than compete with existing restaurants in the area. Pictou Advocate, June 29, 2011
Tak's Thai restaurant will re-open in downtown Pictou on June 30, 2011. Tak's was previously located on Pictou's waterfront offering Thai takeout. The owner has since rented the former location of Relic's/Alec Thom's restaurant and will now operate as a full-service restaurant. Five cooks from Thailand are expected to arrive to prepare the authentic Thai dishes while local cooks will also be hired to prepare Canadian dishes. Pictou Advocate, June 29, 2011
Agriculture Forestry Fishing and Hunting
Nova Scotia Fisheries and Aquaculture is now providing assistance to new fishermen who wish to buy commercial fishing businesses to encourage young people to buy a commercial fishing operation from retiring fishing operators. The department's loan board will lend the deposit for a licence package that can include the boat, licence and gear. A maximum of 25% of the purchase price of a package is available to qualified applicants. The province introduced the loans for licences program in 2009. One hundred and sixty-three loans have been approved for lobster, crab, groundfish and tuna licences since that program began. Program information and applications are available at www.gov.ns.ca/fish/fishlb Various Sources, June 14, 2011
Business Building and Other Support Services
Waterline Signs and Screen Printing re-opened on the Canso waterfront after operating periodically for the last several years. Guysco Investments has purchased the business. They also opened the Dockside Grill next door to Waterline. The printing company hopes to earn county business and enter markets outside the area now that it is re-opening full-time and expanding its capacity to produce high quality signage, embroidery and vehicle decals. Guysborough Journal, June 08, 2011
Eastern Sign-Print is reducing its workforce by 17 as the Sobeys owned printing business partners with Xerox Canada. Xerox will take over daily operation with a focus on signage and print services for Sobeys and its associated companies. Workers in the offset and screen printing sections will lose their jobs; some are eligible for early retirement packages. Forty employees will remain and Xerox will invest in equipment, technology and training to expand Eastern Sign-Print's signage capacity. Various Sources, June 8, 2011
Education Services
Chignecto Central School Board passed a $193 million budget for the 2011-12 school year. Cuts were made to staff, services and programming to balance a net deficit of $3.8 million. Provincial funding was cut by about four and one half percent for this school year. Seventeen full-time equivalent teaching positions, five educational assistant positions and five in-school suspension positions were eliminated. Reductions in board consultants, mentors, administration, literacy and maintenance were also made by Chignecto's board. Various Sources, June 01, 2011
The Strait Regional School Board approved a $78 million budget for the 2011-12 school year. Provincial funding was cut by $3.6 million which includes a two and one half percent reduction in funding plus the increased costs of salaries, heating and other items. The board eliminated 14 full-time teaching positions, five regional office positions and twenty-six support staff jobs. Spending on professional development, travel/ conference costs, technology , support staff and extra-curricular trips was also reduced. Some layoffs occurred but attrition also contributed to the staff reductions. The board is expecting 300 fewer students for the upcoming school year. Various Sources, June 8, 2011
The Nova Scotia Community College faces a $5.7 million funding gap for the 2011-12 school year. The college has proposed a three percent tuition increase. Savings will come from administration costs, such as, lower rental and depreciation costs along with reduced travel and professional development. Staffing will be reduced by 35 -- 18 through retirements and unfilled vacancies and 17 from lay-offs. Various Sources, June 01, 2011
Manufacturing
Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Trenton Ltd. officially began production at the former TrentonWorks railcar plant in Pictou County. The wind turbine tower and blade manufacturing plant currently employs about 115 workers. Daewoo expects to build 50 towers in 2011 and 250 annually by 2015 with revenue of $115 million. Employment is expected to grow to 400 during this time. Parent company, Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Ltd from South Korea has a fifty-one percent interest in the plant. The province of Nova Scotia has forty-nine percent ownership. Various Sources, June 15, 2011
Montreal-based Cycle Capital, a venture-capital firm is investing $4 million into LED Roadway Lighting, of Amherst, as well as an addition $4 million follow-on investment. Chuck Cartmill, CEO of LED Roadway Lighting, will also invest an additional $3.6 million in his company. The company has seen growth in international markets over the past few years and it curently exports to more than 20 countries. With this investment of some $11.6 million, the company expects export number to continue to grow. Amherst Daily News, June 22, 2011
SolarTron Energy Systems Inc. will receive a $250,000 loan from Nova Scotia Business Inc NSBI so it can increase production on 39 solar concentrating collectors used to provide hot water for tanks, boiler heating systems, radiant heating and air conditioning systems for residential, commercial and municipal markets. Last year SolarTron received $50,000 through the province's ecoNova Scotia Fund. That money would aimed to help the company produce its solar collectors in a more cost-effective manner. SolarTron, located in Warren just outside of Amherst, has distributors in Kenya, Australia, Germany, Austria the United States and Canada. Amherst Daily News, June 30, 2011
Real Estate
An approval for development was recently granted by Colchester County council for an expansion of Lexington Park in Bible Hill. The mini home park is owned by Gardiner Properties Ltd. Initial construction should begin in July 2011 pending any appeals. The three phase expansion is planned over seven years and will see Lexington Park grow by 57 lots from its current 70 lots. The first 27 lots are expected to be completed by early September and it is anticipated it will take about three years to fill those with new mini homes. The second phase is expected to take place in 2015 with the final phase to begin in 2017. Truro Daily News, June 24, 2011
Utilities
Plans are in place to construct a $61-million wind farm near Amherst that would use renewable energy to power 10,000 homes within the next year. The project, which is expected to employ up to 50 directly and indirectly over nine months, will include 15 turbines with a capacity of 31.5 megawatts. Two Toronto-based companies Sprott Power and Firelight Infrastructure Partners are leading the project. Suzlon Wind Energy Corporation is also involved and has hired DSTN of Trenton, Nova Scotia to build the towers. Amherst Daily News, June 23, 2011
Private wind developer Shear Wind, of Halifax, will spend $150,000 to study wind by installing meteorological towers in the Lakelands and New Canaan area near Parrsboro. The data will determine whether the area is feasible for wind farm development. If successful and approved by the province, construction work may begin in late 2012. The project size could be similar in scope to Shear Wind's existing Glen Dhu North project in Pictou County, which employed as many as 120 people during the construction process and contributed $40 million to the provincial economy. Amherst Daily News, June 1, 2011
Note: In preparing this document, 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. Users 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 Analyst
for Cumberland / Colchester: ken.mills@servicecanada.gc.ca
for Pictou, Antigonish, Guysborough : diane.tibbo@servicecanada.gc.ca
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