Labour Force Survey

Employment rose by an estimated 42,000 in November, continuing the strong upward trend that began at the start of the year. So far in 2002, employment has increased by 502,000 or 3.3%. The unemployment rate declined in November by 0.1 percentage points to 7.5%.

Rebound in full-time work and manufacturing

Full-time employment rose by 55,000 after edging down over the previous two months. So far in 2002, job growth has been particularly robust in part-time (+7.7%) but has also increased in full-time (+2.4%).

Employment in manufacturing rose by 33,000 in November, all in full-time. Employment in this industry is up 150,000 (+6.8%) so far in 2002, with the largest increases in food, computers and electronics as well as machinery manufacturing. In November, almost all the gains in manufacturing employment occurred in Quebec (+21,000) and Ontario (+10,000).

Job strength continued among adult men, with employment increasing 20,000 in November, the result of a gain in full-time work (+18,000). Since the start of 2002, employment among adult men is up 196,000 (+2.8%), with the largest increases in manufacturing and construction. In November, the unemployment rate among adult men fell 0.2 percentage points to 6.5%.

Employment among youths increased slightly (+15,000), the result of a gain in full-time employment (+17,000). Job growth for youths has been strong throughout 2002, with year-to-date gains totalling 98,000 (+4.3%). In November, the youth unemployment rate declined 0.3 percentage points to 13.6%.

Among adult women, employment was little changed, as an increase in full-time jobs (+21,000) was partly offset by a decline in part-time (-14,000). Over the period from January to November, employment among adult women has increased by 208,000 (+3.5%), with the largest gains in health care and social assistance as well as manufacturing. In November, their unemployment rate edged up 0.1 percentage points to 6.1% because of a slight increase in labour force participation.

Increase in hours worked

The number of hours worked in the economy (514.9 million) rose 1.2%, as it rebounded from the 1.6% decrease in October. The decline in hours worked in October was primarily a result of an unusually large number of employees taking time off at Thanksgiving.

Fewer jobs in construction

Construction employment fell 16,000 in November, the first decline in seven months. Job gains so far in 2002 total 48,000 (+5.7%), reflecting strong consumer demand for housing. The decrease in November was in Quebec (-8,000), Alberta (-6,000) and British Columbia (-5,000).

In November, there was a slight increase in education services (+11,000), partly offsetting the decline in October. So far in 2002, employment in this industry is up by 59,000 (+6.1%).

More employees but fewer self-employed

The number of private sector employees rose by 57,000, the fourth consecutive monthly increase, bringing gains so far in 2002 to 280,000 (+2.8%).

The number of public sector employees increased by 17,000, offsetting most of the decline in October. There has been strength in public sector employment throughout 2002 with gains totalling 123,000 (+4.3%). Most of this increase has been in education services and health care and social assistance.

Self-employment fell by 31,000, partly offsetting the gain in October. Despite this decline, self-employment is up 99,000 (+4.3%) so far in 2002, spurred by growth in professional, scientific and technical services, agriculture and health care and social assistance.

Alberta leads job growth

In Alberta, employment increased by 16,000 with gains spread across a number of industries. So far in 2002, employment in the province is up 55,000 (+3.3%). In November, the increase in employment pushed the unemployment rate down 0.4 percentage points to 5.3%.

Employment edged up 13,000 in Ontario with gains in manufacturing and health care and social assistance. There were declines in management, administrative and other support services. Employment in the province is up 182,000 (+3.1%) so far in 2002, primarily because of strength in the second half of the year. The increase in employment in November combined with a decline in the number of persons in search of work pushed the unemployment rate down 0.5 percentage points to 6.7%.

Overall employment in Quebec increased slightly (+9,000), as a gain in full-time employment (+26,000) was partly offset by a decline in part-time. So far in 2002, employment in the province has increased by 137,000 (+3.9%) with most of the gains occurring in the first half of the year. In November, there was strong job growth in manufacturing (+21,000), but this was partly offset by declines in a number of other industries, most notably construction (-8,000) and professional, scientific and technical services (-8,000). The unemployment rate rose 0.5 percentage points to 8.6%, as more people entered the labour force in search of work.

Employment rose by 3,000 in Nova Scotia and is now just slightly above (+1.0%) the level at the end of 2001. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 9.5% as the gain in employment was matched by an increase in the number of people in the labour force.

In New Brunswick, employment edged up 2,000, bringing gains so far in 2002 to 12,000 (+3.6%). The unemployment rate declined 0.5 percentage points in November to 10.3%.

There was little change in employment for the other provinces in November.

Available on CANSIM: tables 282-0001 to 282-0094.

Information on methods and data quality available in the Integrated Meta Data Base: survey number 3701.

Available at 7:00 am on Statistics Canada's website (http://www.statcan.gc.ca). From the home page, choose Today's news releases from The Daily, then Latest Labour Force Survey.

A more detailed summary, Labour force information, is available today for the week ending November 16 (71-001-XIE, $8/$78).

The next release of the Labour Force Survey will be on Friday, January 10, 2003.

For general information or to order data, contact Client Services (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.