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Friday, February 4, 2005

Labour Force Survey

January 2005 

Employment was little changed for the third consecutive month and the unemployment rate held steady in January at 7.0%. The number of hours worked fell 0.7%, however, it was up 1.4% from a year ago, the same growth rate as employment.

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Fewer youths working in January

Youth employment fell by 21,000 in January, all part time. Despite this decline, their unemployment rate edged up only slightly to 12.8% due to a decrease in labour force participation. Over the past 12 months, employment gains among youths totalled 1.2%, mostly full time.

Employment was little changed among adults in January. Compared with a year ago, employment grew by 1.7% for adult men (all in full time) while for adult women job growth totalled 1.2% with gains in full and part time.

More jobs in retail and wholesale trade

There were 18,000 more people working in retail and wholesale trade in January, bringing gains since August to 46,000 (+1.8%).

Manufacturing employment edged up in January (+14,000) following declines totalling 29,000 over the last seven months of 2004.


Note to readers

Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates have undergone extensive revisions. All estimates have been adjusted to reflect 2001 Census population counts (previously based on the 1996 Census estimates). Industry estimates have been classified from the 1997 to the 2002 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). Occupation estimates have been classified from the 1991 Standard Occupation Classification to the National Occupational Classification: Statistics 2001 (NOC-S). Lastly, geography boundaries have changed from the 1996 Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) to the 2001 SGC, which mainly affects boundaries of census metropolitan areas. The article Improvements in 2005 to the LFS (71F0031XIE2005002, free) provides an overview of the effect of these changes on the estimates.

As a result of these changes, LFS estimates have been revised back to January 1976. Users must be aware that beginning with this release, historical comparisons of estimates produced by the LFS must be made with revised historical data.

Revised historical data are now available on CANSIM. The revised data will also be available on the CD-ROM Labour Force Historical Review (71F0004XCB, $209), which will be released in mid-February. If you have any questions about these changes, contact Client Services (1-866-873-8788; 613-951-4090; labour@statcan.gc.ca).


Construction employment rose slightly in January, building on the strong gains observed in 2004. Over the past 13 months, 84,000 jobs have been added in this industry, reflecting low interest rates and strength in building permits and housing starts.

The number of people working in health care and social assistance fell by 14,000 in January. Despite this decline, employment in the health care and social assistance sector has been relatively stable since the start of 2004 following robust gains in 2002 and 2003.

Employment in public administration also fell by 14,000 in January and follows a year of little change, leaving the number of jobs in this sector at about the same level as at the beginning of 2004.

In January, employment declined in information, culture and recreation (-12,000), bringing losses since August to 36,000. This offsets most of the gains observed earlier in 2004.

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Employment edged up slightly in accommodation and food services for the second consecutive month leaving it little changed since the start of 2004. However, since the fall, employment has been weak in parts of this sector, notably taverns and bars, possibly due to the ongoing National Hockey League labour dispute.

In January, employment in the private sector rose by 42,000 with gains in both private sector employees and self-employment. In contrast, the number of jobs in the public sector fell by 48,000. Over the past 13 months, the number of private sector employees has increased by 1.5%, while self-employment has grown by a comparable rate of 1.3%. The employment loss in January among public workers cuts their job growth to 0.9% over the same 13 month period.

Provincial employment

Employment increased by 16,000 in Quebec, continuing the pattern of modest job growth observed through most of 2004. The increase in January brings gains over the last 12 months to 71,000 (+2.0%). The largest increases in January were in retail and wholesale trade, accommodation and food services and transportation and warehousing. The unemployment rate edged down to 8.4% in January.

In Ontario, employment fell by 28,000 as a decline of 51,000 full-time jobs was only partly offset by a gain in part-time work. This overall decrease was spread among adults and youths with job losses across several industries. Despite the decline in employment, the unemployment rate edged down slightly to 6.7%, the result of fewer people in the labour force. With the job losses in January, employment growth for the province over the last year is only 0.8%.

In January, the only significant employment change in Atlantic Canada occurred in New Brunswick where the number of people with jobs declined by 3,000, pushing the unemployment rate up to 9.7%. The employment decline in January follows growth of 1.8% in 2004. Losses in January occurred in manufacturing and construction.

In British Columbia, an increase of 17,000 full-time jobs was offset by a similar decline in part time. This leaves overall gains from a year ago at 1.8% (+37,000). The strong employment growth observed in the construction sector in 2004 continued in January as 9,000 jobs were added.

There was little change in employment in the other provinces in January.

Available on CANSIM: tables 282-0001 to 282-0042, 282-0047 to 282-0064, 282-0069 to 282-0096 and 282-0098.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 3701.

Available at 7:00 am on our Web site. 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 January 15 (71-001-XIE, $9/$84).

Data tables are also available in the Canadian Statistics module of our Web site.

The next release of the Labour Force Survey will be on Friday, March 11.

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 Vincent Ferrao (613-951-4750) or Jeannine Usalcas (613-951-4720), Labour Statistics Division.

Employment by industry (based on NAICS) and class of worker for both sexes, aged 15 and over
  December 2004 January 2005 December 2004 to January 2005 January 2004 to January 2005 December 2004 to January 2005 January 2004 to January 2005
  seasonally adjusted
  '000 %
All industries 16,063.1 16,057.4 -5.7 227.5 0.0 1.4
Goods-producing sector 4,023.9 4,037.0 13.1 99.7 0.3 2.5
Agriculture 321.7 317.1 -4.6 -9.8 -1.4 -3.0
Forestry, fishing, mining, oil and gas 301.2 297.2 -4.0 17.2 -1.3 6.1
Utilities 124.6 122.1 -2.5 -10.6 -2.0 -8.0
Construction 995.0 1,005.3 10.3 89.6 1.0 9.8
Manufacturing 2,281.5 2,295.4 13.9 13.4 0.6 0.6
Services-producing sector 12,039.2 12,020.4 -18.8 127.8 -0.2 1.1
Trade 2,524.2 2,542.5 18.3 47.0 0.7 1.9
Transportation and warehousing 786.6 792.9 6.3 -24.2 0.8 -3.0
Finance, insurance, real estate and leasing 984.4 985.1 0.7 56.1 0.1 6.0
Professional, scientific and technical services 1,029.8 1,030.1 0.3 33.3 0.0 3.3
Business, building and other support services 632.8 622.4 -10.4 -3.1 -1.6 -0.5
Educational services 1,056.7 1,047.8 -8.9 5.4 -0.8 0.5
Health care and social assistance 1,736.4 1,722.1 -14.3 -10.1 -0.8 -0.6
Information, culture and recreation 733.3 721.0 -12.3 -8.2 -1.7 -1.1
Accommodation and food services 1,016.7 1,026.0 9.3 27.9 0.9 2.8
Other services 702.0 708.5 6.5 3.0 0.9 0.4
Public administration 836.2 821.9 -14.3 0.6 -1.7 0.1
Class of worker            
Public sector employees 3,098.7 3,050.8 -47.9 49.9 -1.5 1.7
Private sector 12,964.4 13,006.7 42.3 177.7 0.3 1.4
Private employees 10,511.0 10,535.5 24.5 139.7 0.2 1.3
Self-employed 2,453.4 2,471.2 17.8 38.0 0.7 1.6
Note:Related CANSIM tables 282-0088 and 282-0089.

Employment by type of work, age and sex, seasonally adjusted
  January 2005 December 2005 to January 2005 January 2004 to January 2005 January 2005 December 2005 to January 2005 January 2004 to January 2005 January 2005 December 2005 to January 2005 January 2004 to January 2005
  seasonally adjusted
  Both sexes Men Women
  '000
Employment 16,057.4 -5.7 227.5 8,540.7 -9.8 127.6 7,516.7 4.1 99.9
Full time 13,096.6 -2.1 218.7 7,642.7 16.3 161.0 5,453.9 -18.4 57.6
Part time 2,960.8 -3.6 8.8 898.0 -26.1 -33.5 2,062.8 22.5 42.3
15 to 24 2,464.1 -20.8 28.7 1,244.8 -20.4 5.2 1,219.3 -0.4 23.4
25 and over 13,593.3 15.1 198.8 7,295.9 10.6 122.3 6,297.4 4.5 76.5
25 to 54 11,455.2 23.3 95.1 6,032.7 -2.7 37.7 5,422.5 26.0 57.4
55 and over 2,138.2 -8.1 103.8 1,263.2 13.3 84.6 875.0 -21.4 19.2
Note:Related CANSIM table 282-0087.

Labour force characteristics for both sexes, aged 15 and over
  December 2004 January 2005 December 2004 to January 2005 December 2004 January 2005 December 2004 to January 2005
  seasonally adjusted
  Labour force Participation rate
  '000 % change % change
Canada 17,280.0 17,263.8 -0.1 67.5 67.4 -0.1
Newfoundland and Labrador 252.2 252.4 0.1 58.6 58.7 0.1
Prince Edward Island 76.7 76.5 -0.3 69.0 68.8 -0.2
Nova Scotia 486.6 486.8 0.0 64.1 64.1 0.0
New Brunswick 389.4 388.1 -0.3 64.0 63.7 -0.3
Quebec 4,052.5 4,062.5 0.2 66.0 66.1 0.1
Ontario 6,819.0 6,780.6 -0.6 68.4 67.9 -0.5
Manitoba 611.1 610.9 0.0 69.1 69.0 -0.1
Saskatchewan 514.0 512.3 -0.3 68.8 68.6 -0.2
Alberta 1,850.3 1,856.8 0.4 73.3 73.4 0.1
British Columbia 2,228.2 2,236.9 0.4 65.3 65.4 0.1
  Employment Employment rate
  '000 % change % change
Canada 16,063.1 16,057.4 0.0 62.8 62.7 -0.1
Newfoundland and Labrador 216.0 216.0 0.0 50.2 50.2 0.0
Prince Edward Island 68.7 68.5 -0.3 61.8 61.6 -0.2
Nova Scotia 443.4 444.6 0.3 58.4 58.6 0.2
New Brunswick 352.9 350.3 -0.7 58.0 57.5 -0.5
Quebec 3,703.9 3,719.6 0.4 60.3 60.5 0.2
Ontario 6,353.5 6,325.2 -0.4 63.7 63.4 -0.3
Manitoba 580.3 579.7 -0.1 65.6 65.5 -0.1
Saskatchewan 486.9 487.4 0.1 65.2 65.2 0.0
Alberta 1,768.1 1,774.5 0.4 70.0 70.1 0.1
British Columbia 2,089.5 2,091.7 0.1 61.2 61.2 0.0
  Unemployment Unemployment rate
  '000 % change % change
Canada 1,216.9 1,206.4 -0.9 7.0 7.0 0.0
Newfoundland and Labrador 36.2 36.3 0.3 14.4 14.4 0.0
Prince Edward Island 8.0 8.0 0.0 10.4 10.5 0.1
Nova Scotia 43.2 42.2 -2.3 8.9 8.7 -0.2
New Brunswick 36.5 37.8 3.6 9.4 9.7 0.3
Quebec 348.6 342.9 -1.6 8.6 8.4 -0.2
Ontario 465.5 455.4 -2.2 6.8 6.7 -0.1
Manitoba 30.8 31.1 1.0 5.0 5.1 0.1
Saskatchewan 27.1 25.0 -7.7 5.3 4.9 -0.4
Alberta 82.3 82.3 0.0 4.4 4.4 0.0
British Columbia 138.8 145.3 4.7 6.2 6.5 0.3
Note:Related CANSIM table 282-0087.

Labour force characteristics for both sexes, aged 15 and over
  January 2004 January 2005 January 2004 to January 2005 January 2004 January 2005 January 2004 to January 2005
  Unadjusted
  Labour force Participation rate
  '000 % change % change
Canada 16,802.1 16,971.8 1.0 66.5 66.2 -0.3
Newfoundland and Labrador 243.9 239.0 -2.0 56.7 55.6 -1.1
Prince Edward Island 71.1 72.9 2.5 64.4 65.6 1.2
Nova Scotia 466.9 473.7 1.5 61.8 62.4 0.6
New Brunswick 373.3 374.3 0.3 61.6 61.5 -0.1
Quebec 3,928.8 3,987.1 1.5 64.6 64.8 0.2
Ontario 6,631.4 6,676.5 0.7 67.5 66.9 -0.6
Manitoba 596.3 601.4 0.9 67.9 67.9 0.0
Saskatchewan 494.4 502.5 1.6 66.4 67.2 0.8
Alberta 1,805.6 1,832.6 1.5 72.7 72.4 -0.3
British Columbia 2,190.5 2,211.9 1.0 65.1 64.7 -0.4
  Employment Employment rate
  '000 % change % change
Canada 15,468.9 15,695.5 1.5 61.2 61.3 0.1
Newfoundland and Labrador 199.1 199.8 0.4 46.3 46.4 0.1
Prince Edward Island 60.3 62.6 3.8 54.6 56.3 1.7
Nova Scotia 418.2 427.1 2.1 55.4 56.2 0.8
New Brunswick 330.8 332.4 0.5 54.6 54.6 0.0
Quebec 3,536.3 3,611.1 2.1 58.2 58.7 0.5
Ontario 6,177.9 6,223.7 0.7 62.9 62.3 -0.6
Manitoba 562.0 567.8 1.0 64.0 64.1 0.1
Saskatchewan 463.4 474.2 2.3 62.3 63.5 1.2
Alberta 1,708.7 1,743.6 2.0 68.8 68.9 0.1
British Columbia 2,012.2 2,053.3 2.0 59.8 60.1 0.3
  Unemployment Unemployment rate
  '000 % change % change
Canada 1,333.3 1,276.4 -4.3 7.9 7.5 -0.4
Newfoundland and Labrador 44.8 39.3 -12.3 18.4 16.4 -2.0
Prince Edward Island 10.7 10.3 -3.7 15.0 14.1 -0.9
Nova Scotia 48.7 46.7 -4.1 10.4 9.9 -0.5
New Brunswick 42.6 41.9 -1.6 11.4 11.2 -0.2
Quebec 392.6 376.0 -4.2 10.0 9.4 -0.6
Ontario 453.5 452.8 -0.2 6.8 6.8 0.0
Manitoba 34.2 33.6 -1.8 5.7 5.6 -0.1
Saskatchewan 31.0 28.3 -8.7 6.3 5.6 -0.7
Alberta 96.9 89.0 -8.2 5.4 4.9 -0.5
British Columbia 178.3 158.6 -11.0 8.1 7.2 -0.9
Note:Related CANSIM table 282-0087.



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Date Modified: 2005-02-04 Important Notices