Labour Market Monitor - Southern Nova Scotia
July 2011
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 focusing on labour market information produced by a local Labour Market Information Analyst.
Labour Force Trends
Although employment levels are down significantly (-3,600) in the Southern area compared to last July, the unemployment rate in the area has actually declined by over 2 percentage points during that time. This decline is due to over 5,000 workers leaving the labour force over the past 12 months. This has helped reduce the number of unemployed workers in the area and has pushed the unemployment rate down to 9.2% for July 2011.
For more information, please visit the Statistics Canada website at: www40.statcan.gc.ca/l01/cst01/lfss05b-eng.htm
| Southern | July | |
|---|---|---|
| Region: 240 | 2010 | 2011 |
| Labour Force (000) | 64.0 | 58.7 |
| Employed (000) | 56.8 | 53.2 |
| Full Time | 45.3 | 43.5 |
| Part Time | 11.6 | 9.7 |
| Unemployed (000) | 7.2 | 5.4 |
| Participation Rate (%) | 64.5 | 59.7 |
| Unemployment Rate (%) | 11.3 | 9.2 |
| Data is 3 month moving average from the Labour Force Survey, Statistics Canada | ||
Labour Market News by Industry
Agriculture
Cooke Aquaculture stated that work on their new salmon farm sites in St. Mary's Bay is fully installed with 700,000 salmon. A second approved site will be constructed next about one and a half kilometres further into the bay. The company has begun hiring for both sites and should have had 16 new employees by the end of July. Shelburne Coastguard - 19 July 2011
Construction
The Town of Digby accepted a $175,000 bid from D.J. Lowe to pave a portion of Shore Road. Digby Courier - 14 July 2011
Construction of the new Lunenburg County Lifestyle Centre is expected to begin in late-August to early-September. The $33 million project had been held up waiting for a letter of approval from the Department of the Environment, which is now in place. Lunenburg County Progress - 26 July 2011
Manufacturing
The provincial government invested $21,000 in A.F. Theriault and Son, a Meteghan River boat building company, to purchase a laser alignment system. The investment is from the Productivity Investment Program and will allow the manufacturer to build larger boats and increase international sales. A.F. Theriault also announced that they built their one-hundredth Hammerhead, a small remote-controlled target boat used to simulate attacks on warships. Yarmouth Vanguard - 12 July 2011
Education
For the first time since 2008, the Nova Scotia Community College increased its tuition rates. The three percent increase will be applied to the 2011-2012 academic year. The college stated that it had to take steps to address their $5.7 million budget shortfall. At the Burridge Campus, in Yarmouth, two programs are suspended for the upcoming year, computer service technician and tourism management. Yarmouth Vanguard - 5 July 2011
Information, Cultural and Recreation
The province is contributing $120,000 towards construction of a track and field complex at École Par-en-Bas, the centrepiece of the 2012 Jeux de l'Acadie. The total cost of the facility is estimated to be $450,000. Yarmouth Vanguard - 12 July 2011
Accommodation & Food Service
The Yarmouth and Acadian Shores Tourism Association is coping with reduced funding for marketing. In 2006, a room levy tax was established for hotels with 20 rooms or more. The January to May numbers are down 30 percent over the past five years and there are only three properties left, from the original nine, which are collecting room levy dollars. Yarmouth Vanguard - 19 July 2011
Top of Main Contemporary Cuisine opened in Mahone Bay in July. In addition to serving food, the establishment intends to hold gourmet cooking classes in the fall and winter. That led to a kitchen design that could accommodate 8 to 16 people. Lunenburg County Progress - 26 July 2011
Provincial tourism numbers for occupancy rate and room nights sold were up one percent in May over last year. The Fundy Shore and Annapolis Valley showed a stronger 15 percent increase but the Yarmouth and Acadian Shores region saw a nine percent drop. Operators in Digby stated the high Canadian dollar and high gas prices have resulted in a lower number of tourists from the United States. Digby Courier - 28 July 2011
Public Administration - Local
A Dartmouth-based consulting firm will be conducting a municipal review on services and governance for the towns of Mahone Bay and Bridgewater and the Municipality of Lunenburg. The contract is valued at $110,000 with the provincial government contributing $50,000. The review is expected to take at least six months to finish. Lunenburg County Progress - 5 July 2011
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