Labour Market Monitor - Southern Nova Scotia
July 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
While employment levels in Southern Nova Scotia were unchanged from July 2009 to July 2010, the composition of employment did. A decrease in full-time work of 1,400 was completely offset by an increase in part-time work. The labour force increased on a year-over-year basis by 1,500. With no change in employment levels and an increase in the labour force, the number unemployed rose. The unemployment rate increased on a year-over-year basis, rising from 9.3 percent to 11.4 percent this month.
For more information, please visit the Statistics Canada website at: www40.statcan.gc.ca/l01/cst01/lfss05b-eng.htm
| Southern NS | July | |
|---|---|---|
| Region: 240 | 2009 | 2010 |
| Labour Force (000) | 65.3 | 66.8 |
| Employed (000) | 59.2 | 59.2 |
| Full Time | 48.7 | 47.3 |
| Part Time | 10.5 | 11.9 |
| Unemployed (000) | 6.1 | 7.6 |
| Participation Rate (%) | 63.2 | 64.9 |
| Unemployment Rate (%) | 9.3 | 11.4 |
| Data is 3 month moving average from the Labour Force Survey, Statistics Canada | ||
Labour Market News by Industry
Mining
Field crews will soon begin work on a high grade lithium deposit near Brazil Lake, Yarmouth County. The site has been described as containing one of the highest-grade lithium deposits in North America. Petro Horizon Energy Corp will begin a partnership with Nova Scotia's Champlain Mineral Ventures Ltd to develop the project. They will be committing $2 million over the next three years to the project. (Yarmouth Vanguard - 27 July 2010)
Construction
Construction of the new Queens Place has officially begun. In early July work crews were at the location to start excavation work where the recreation facility will be constructed. The final designs of the project have been completed and construction will start later in the summer. The deadline for tenders ends at the end of July. (Liverpool Advance - 13 July 2010)
Construction of the new Yarmouth High School is underway. Maxim 2000 Inc was the successful bidder as the general contractor for the project, with a bid of $20,597,000. When the school was originally announced the opening date was slated for September 2011, but over the past year it has become clear that a January 2012 date is more realistic. Maxim 2000 Inc will be working with Hurlburt Construction and they also plan to use other local subcontractors to carry out some work. (Yarmouth Vanguard - 27 July 2010)
A major construction project is set to start on Pleasant Street in Yarmouth. The plan is to overhaul the whole street from Starrs Road to Prospect Street, with curbing, new walking paths and plumbing upgrades as the top priorities. The tender was awarded to Aberdeen Paving Ltd, as their bid was $2,873,300, more than $1 million less than the original tag attached to the project. (Yarmouth Vanguard - 20 July 2010)
Manufacturing:
The Bluenose II restoration has begun. The budget for the project is estimated at $14.8 million, and the restoration will not be complete until spring of 2012. Included in that budget is $1.5 million which will be used towards shipbuilding in Lunenburg, which will be a lasting benefit to the town. The federal government and the provincial government are in negotiations regarding how they will share the cost of the project. (Bridgewater Bulletin - 13 July 2010)
Irving Shipbuilding is about to purchase the Shelburne ship repair yard from the Nova Scotia government for $1 million. The company has started undertaking large investments to improve the wharf and the marine railway at the site. The total cost of the improvements is around $10 million. When the Shelburne yard closed last year sixty workers were laid off, but twenty seven were rehired to work on the upgrades. The company is estimating that once operations resume all sixty will be back to work. (Shelburne Coastguard- 27 July 2010)
Trade
The national discount chain, Giant Tiger will be adding a new store location in Bridgewater. The new location will be 215 Dominion Street, and will replace the Rewards department store. Store officials visited the area last year to view the market and what opportunities might lay ahead. (Bridgewater Bulletin - 13 July 2010)
Transportation and Warehousing
A recent ACOA study stated that the Ferry service from Digby Nova Scotia to St. John New Brunswick is very important to both economies. In the study it was confirmed that the ferry is the best way for transportation of goods and tourist into this part of the province. The study reports that 75 percent of all commercial traffic on the ferry is fishery related. Over a 10 year period without a ferry the region would lose a total of $211.3 million of revenue, with the biggest losers being companies in commercial trucking, fisheries and tourism. (Digby Courier - 9 July 2010)
The Digby Ferry that runs to St. John has seen a large increase in traffic since the closure of the CAT Ferry in Yarmouth. The noticeable increase has led to a meeting with the Bay of Fundy Ferry Coalition and Bay Ferries to discuss the possibility of adding another run to the boat, because with the increase of traffic the coalition is worried about keeping products, such as fish, fresh. (Digby Courier - 15 July 2010)
Business, Building and Other Support
Starting this December, residents in the South West of Nova Scotia will find it easier to access public housing. The Tri-County (Digby, Yarmouth, and Shelburne) Annapolis Valley and South Shore housing authorities will unite, and become the Western Regional Housing Authority. No offices will be closed, there will be no loss of employment and no employees are expected to move as result of the restructuring. (Various Sources - 20 July 2010)
Education
The South Shore Regional School Board has added a new administrative position, to help with the cost of substitute teachers, which will cost about $1.2 million each year. The reason for adding this new position is to help improve teacher absentee issues. The price for a substitute teacher each day is about $160. The school board plans on saving about $90,000 a year, by adding this new position and by reducing the number of missed days by full time teachers. (Bridgewater Bulletin - 6 July 2010)
Health Care and Social Assistance:
South West Health and South Shore Health, along with the other seven District Health Authorities including the IWK, have decided that they will now begin to buy all of their supplies from one company, instead of buying from many different companies. They feel by doing this they will save a lot more money. The decision as to which company they will conduct business with will be made in the fall. (Various Sources - 20 July 2010)
Information, Culture and Recreation
Lunenburg has seen its fair share of movies filmed in the scenic town, but rarely does it have the chance to portray itself. Usually the town is used in films as a stand-in for other towns, but not in the case of the new movie Cloudburst. The movie, which is being filmed in several different towns in Nova Scotia, will use Lunenburg as its main town. The romantic comedy also has some local talent in it as one of the main characters is from Clare, Digby County. (Bridgewater Bulletin - 6 July 2010)
Lunenburg based company, HB Studios, has been enjoying some success lately. They are responsible for developing popular sports games for XBOX, WII, and Playstation. Their newest creation 2010 FIFA World Cup has held the number one spot in sales for seven weeks. The company started off small, developing games such as Cricket and Rugby. They are now celebrating their 10th anniversary, and becoming more involved in North American sports; such as hockey, baseball, and football. (Bridgewater Bulletin - 13 July 2010)
Accommodation and Food Service
According to Yarmouth and Acadian Shores information centres, visitors to the area are down by 50 percent this year compared to last year. As of the end of June they had 375 visitors to the area compared to 758 last year. (Yarmouth Vanguard - 6 July 2010)
Even with the loss of the Yarmouth to Maine Ferry, tourism numbers in Lunenburg are up from the previous year. Several different business and Bed and Breakfast establishments have reported their numbers are up from last year, in some cases only slightly. They have also reported that the types of visitors have changed. In previous years they had lots of visitors from the New England states who travelled by the ferry, but this year the majority of the visitors have been Albertans and people flying in from New York State. (Bridgewater Bulletin- 27 July 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