Southern NS Labour Market Monitor - March 2010
This is an overview of the Southern Region which includes Digby, Yarmouth, Shelburne, Queens and Lunenburg Counties. The Labour Market Monitor is a monthly report providing information on labour market developments for specific regions within the province.
Labour Force Trends
Employment fell sharply (3,600) in the Southern region, with a significant drop (4,500) in full time employment outweighing an increase (900) in part time work. With a labour force decrease of 1,600, the level of unemployment rose by 2,000 which increased the unemployment rate noticeably (3.7 percentage points) on a year over year basis to 17.2 percent. This is the highest unemployment rate on record for the region.
For more information, please visit the Statistics Canada website at: www40.statcan.gc.ca/l01/cst01/lfss05b-eng.htm
| Southern Nova Scotia | March | |
|---|---|---|
| Region: 240 | 2009 | 2010 |
| Labour Force (000) | 61.4 | 59.8 |
| Employed (000) | 53.1 | 49.5 |
| Full Time | 42.6 | 38.1 |
| Part Time | 10.5 | 11.4 |
| Unemployed (000) | 8.3 | 10.3 |
| Participation Rate (%) | 59.4 | 58 |
| Unemployment Rate (%) | 13.5 | 17.2 |
| Data is 3 month moving average from the Labour Force Survey, Statistics Canada | ||
Labour Market News by Industry
Mining
Petro Horizon Energy Corp listed minimum work commitments of $2 million over the next three years with a minimum of $500,000 in the first year to develop a high grade lithium deposit in Yarmouth County. The property consists of two exploration licences that include 79 claims covering 3,160 acres. Although far in the future, if the project ever gets into production, it could mean 30 to 50 jobs.Yarmouth Vanguard - 2 March 2010
Construction
Dexter Construction was awarded a $3 million contract to repave Highway 101 from the Shaw Road underpass to just past the Bear River bridge. The 8.2 kilometre project was announced in February. Digby Courier - 18 March 2010
The federal government announced $375,000 in funding for a major renovation project at the Yarmouth YMCA. The funding will help support a project totalling over $1.1 million that includes mechanical and heating systems, replacing roofs and renovating lockers rooms. Yarmouth Vanguard - 2 March 2010
Manufacturing:
Bowater is set to shut down for an additional five-week period beginning in mid-April. Market conditions and a close-to-par Canadian dollar have made the latest shutdown necessary. Bowater has 200 regular full time unionized employees and 40 casual/spare employees. Order capacity is down with some South American orders being filled by mills in the southern U.S. Liverpool Advance - 30 March 2010
Business Services
Convergys is hiring for full-time and part-time on-site and home agent positions for its contact centre in Cornwallis Park. The centre will continue to hire on-site agents but also want to increase its compliment of home-agents by 50 due to the success of its Work-at-Home pilot project. Digby Courier - 11 March 2010
Education
For the fifth year in a row, the number of students enrolled at Université Sainte-Anne has been on the rise. In spite of a challenging economy and demography in Nova Scotia, the French-language university now has 495 students enrolled, their highest number on record. Digby Courier - 4 March 2010
Health:
The provincial government is loaning seven Lunenburg County child-care centres $230,000 toward repair and renovation projects. The successful recipients are eligible to have at least a quarter of the value of their loans made forgivable. Bridgewater Bulletin - 9 March 2010
Information, Culture and Recreation
Music Nova Scotia announced that Yarmouth will again host Nova Scotia Music Week in early November. They stated that last year's event was the most successful to date and organizers want to build on that success. Economically, the event generates close to $1 million in sales and services over the four days. Yarmouth Vanguard - 2 March 2010
Two Queens County recreation facilities received funding from the Recreational Infrastructure Canada Program. The Liverpool Curling Club and Greenfield Recreation Centre received approximately $10,000 each for structural improvements. Liverpool Advance - 2 March 2010
Ross Farm received a major $1 million investment from the federal government for new infrastructure. The funding is for construction of the first phase of a 16,425 square-foot, environmentally sustainable learning centre for the museum. Bridgewater Bulletin - 30 March 2010
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 bulletin, 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 the bulletin 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 bulletin does not necessarily reflect official policies of Service Canada.For more information please contact:
David Doucette
Labour Market Information Analyst
david.doucette@servicecanada.gc.ca
or visit our website at: www.labourmarketinformation.ca