The Daily. Friday, May 10, 2002

Labour Force Survey

Continuing the strong upward trend that began at the start of the year, employment increased by 37,000 in April, bringing gains over the last four months to 207,000. The unemployment rate edged down 0.1 percentage points to 7.6% in April.

Employment strength in Canada over the first four months of 2002 (+1.4%) is in sharp contrast to the weakness observed in the United States, where employment over the same period declined 0.1 percentage points.

Adult men gain in April but excellent start of the year for all demographic groups

April's increase was concentrated in full-time employment and among adult men (25-years of age and older). Pushed by gains in transportation and warehousing, employment among adult men increased by 34,000, all in full time.

The increase among adult men in April brings their gains so far this year to 91,000, and a large proportion of these jobs were full time. While employment among adult women and youths showed little change in April, their gains since December stand at 60,000 and 56,000 respectively. Two-thirds of the gains for adult women were in full-time employment.

Due entirely to gains among adult men, self-employment increased by 30,000 in April. This was the first major increase in self-employment in nearly two years.

Among the provinces, Quebec posted the strongest employment increase in April (+29,000). As in Canada as a whole, April's increase was concentrated in full-time employment and among adult men. British Columbia also posted job gains (+13,000), while the job market in Ontario was relatively unchanged.

Consumer demand boosts trade employment

The strength in the housing market continues to fuel consumer demand for household-related items. As a result, employment rose in furniture and home furnishings stores, general merchandise stores, and building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers in April. Overall, trade employment increased by 24,000, bringing gains in the last two months to 42,000.

The manufacturing sector registered a loss of 19,000 jobs in April. Despite this drop, manufacturing employment is up since the start of the year (+81,000). In response to rising consumer demand for their products, motor vehicle and wood producers have added workers in recent months. Employment in chemical manufacturing was also up in the first four months of the year.

Employment in health care and social assistance rose by 25,000 in April, continuing the upward trend that began last July and bringing gains since then to 53,000.

In transportation and warehousing, employment increased by 11,000 in April. Despite this increase, transportation and warehousing employment is down 42,000 since August. Air transportation and sightseeing transportation have shown a downward trend since August.

Employment in public administration fell by 22,000 in April. The losses were mainly concentrated in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia.

The downward trend in natural resources employment continued in April with a decrease of 8,000, all in Alberta. Losses in this industry since September are estimated at 26,000, with Alberta and British Columbia leading the decline.

Provincial labour markets

Propelled by a strong increase in Montréal, employment in Quebec continued to surge, increasing by 29,000 in April and bringing gains so far this year to 98,000. April's increase was concentrated in retail and wholesale trade and in management of companies, administration and other support services. The unemployment rate fell 0.3 percentage points to 8.6%.

Employment was up in British Columbia (+13,000), bringing gains so far this year to 40,000. An increase of 17,000 jobs in trade in April offset losses in the first three months of the year. The unemployment rate in April was 8.7%, down 0.3 percentage points.

While labour market conditions were little changed in Ontario in April, employment is up 43,000 since the start of the year. The information, culture and recreation sector posted gains in April, while declines were observed in public administration and in management of companies, administrative and other support services. The unemployment rate remained at 7.0%.

For the second consecutive month, employment in Newfoundland and Labrador increased by 3,000, pushing the unemployment rate down 1.3 percentage points in April to 15.3%. Gains in natural resources and manufacturing offset a decrease in trade.

Employment in Prince Edward Island grew by 1,600 in April, with gains divided equally between manufacturing and trade. The unemployment rate fell 1.2 percentage points to 11.2%.

Employment declined by 4,000 in Manitoba, causing the unemployment rate to rise half a percentage point to 5.5%.

Available on CANSIM: tables 279-0001 to 279-0023 and 282-0001 to 282-0093.

Available at 7:00 am on Statistics Canada's Web site (). From the home page, choose Today's news releases from the Daily, then Latest LFS.

A more detailed summary, Labour force information is available today for the week ending April 20 (71-001-PIB, $8/$78; 71-001-PPB, $11/$103).

The next release of the Labour Force Survey will be on Friday, June 7.

To order data, or for general information, contact the Client Services Unit (1-866-873-8788; 613-951-4090; labour@statcan.gc.ca). To enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Geoff Bowlby (613-951-3325) or Vincent Ferrao (613-951-4750), Labour Statistics Division.

Labour force characteristics for both sexes, aged 15 and over

Labour force characteristics for both sexes, aged 15 and over

Employment by industry (based on NAICS) and class of worker for both sexes, aged 15 and over

Employment by type of work, age and sex