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Friday, May 6, 2005

Labour Force Survey

April 2005

Employment increased by an estimated 29,000 in April following modest job growth over the previous five months. The unemployment rate edged down 0.1 percentage points to 6.8%, the lowest since December 2000.

So far in 2005, employment has risen by 0.3% (+55,000). In contrast, the number of hours worked grew by 1.4% over the first four months of the year, boosted by a strong increase in full-time work in April.

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More adult women working full time

There were 17,000 more women aged 25 and over working in April, as an increase of 52,000 full-time jobs was partly offset by a decline in part time. The overall gain for adult women in April brings the total increase since the start of the year to 41,000 (+0.6%), all full time. Their unemployment rate fell 0.2 percentage points in April to 5.5%.

Employment among adult men held steady in April and is up 44,000 (+0.6%) over the first four months of the year, similar to the growth for adult women.

Youth employment was unchanged in April, leaving losses over the first four months of the year at 30,000 (-1.2%), all in full-time jobs.

More construction jobs but fewer workers employed in manufacturing

There were 26,000 more people employed in construction in April. Despite a pause in recent months, there has been robust employment growth of 9.3% over the last year. Quebec and Alberta accounted for virtually all of the increase in construction jobs in April.

Employment grew by 23,000 in professional, scientific and technical services in April, bringing growth over the last 12 months to 3.4%. All of the increase in April was in architectural and engineering services as well as computer systems design.

Employment rose by 29,000 in educational services in April, with gains in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. Since the start of the 2004/05 school year, employment in the sector has increased by 71,000 (+6.8%).

In April, there were an estimated 23,000 additional workers in public administration, driven for the second consecutive month by increases at the municipal level. This more than offsets losses observed at the start of the year.

Employment edged up in natural resources (+6,000), with gains in Alberta, British Columbia and Quebec. Employment in natural resources is up 8.0% from 12 months ago, fueled by robust growth in Alberta (+16.1%).

Weakness in manufacturing continued in April as the number of factory jobs dropped by 29,000, with losses concentrated in Quebec and Alberta. Compared to 12 months ago, employment in manufacturing is down 3.1% (-72,000). In the April Business Conditions Survey, manufacturers identified a number of impediments to production, including the high value of the Canadian dollar and inexpensive foreign imports.

The number of people working in retail and wholesale trade fell by 20,000 in April, leaving employment in the sector at about the same level as at the end of 2004.

Employment in health care and social assistance decreased by an estimated 23,000 in April, mostly in social assistance. The sector had been showing strength prior to mid-2004, however, there has been weakness over the last 12 months — mainly in ambulatory health care services (such as offices of physicians, dentists and medical laboratories) and in social assistance.

There were 17,000 fewer people working in information, culture and recreation in April, with the largest loss coming from the amusement, gambling and recreation portion of the industry. This leaves employment in the sector at about the same level as a year ago.

With strength in public administration and educational services, the number of public sector employees increased by an estimated 38,000 in April. The private sector experienced little change in both self-employment and in the number of employees. However, so far in 2005, overall employment growth has stemmed from self-employment (+48,000), followed by public sector employees (+45,000). In contrast, the number of private sector employees has declined by 39,000 over the first four months of the year.

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Provincial focus

Employment in Ontario rose by 26,000 in April as an increase of 59,000 full-time jobs was only partly offset by a decline in part time. There were increases in municipal public administration, educational services, and in finance, insurance, real estate and leasing. Recent job gains leave employment in the province up by a modest 0.4% since the end of 2004. The unemployment rate edged down 0.1 percentage points in April to 6.8%.

In British Columbia, employment increased by 13,000, pushing the unemployment rate down 0.4 percentage points to 6.1%, the lowest in almost 25 years. The largest employment increase occurred in accommodation and food services. Compared to 12 months ago, employment in the province is up 4.0% (+81,000), boosted by robust gains in the construction sector.

In Quebec, employment was little changed for the third consecutive month, however, the unemployment rate fell 0.3 percentage points to 7.9% as fewer people were looking for work. In April, job losses in manufacturing and in wholesale trade were largely offset by significant gains in construction and in professional, scientific and technical services.

Although employment in Manitoba was unchanged in April, there were fewer people looking for work, pushing the unemployment rate down 0.5 percentage points to 4.8%.

In Alberta, employment held steady in April as continued strength in transportation and warehousing, educational services and natural resources were offset by losses in accommodation and food services and trade. However, as more people entered the labour force in search of a job, the unemployment rate jumped 0.5 percentage points to 4.0%.

There were 4,000 fewer people working in Newfoundland and Labrador in April, with declines spread across several sectors. April's decrease offsets the gain in March, leaving employment in the province at about the same level as last November. Job losses in April pushed the unemployment rate up 1.2 percentage points to 16.1%.

Although employment decreased by 4,000 in Saskatchewan, a decline in labour force participation caused the unemployment rate to edge down 0.2 percentage points to 5.0%. Despite the decline this month, employment is up 0.9% from 12 months ago.

There was little change in both employment and unemployment in the other provinces in April.

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 a.m. on Statistics Canada's 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 April 16 (71-001-XIE, $9/$84). The 2004 Labour Force Historical Review on CD-ROM (71F0004XCB, $209) is also available. LAN and bulk prices are available on request.

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

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

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
  March 2005 April 2005 March to April 2005 April 2004 to April 2005 March to April 2005 April 2004 to April 2005
  Seasonally adjusted
  '000 %
All industries 16,088.4 16,117.7 29.3 214.2 0.2 1.3
Goods-producing sector 4,017.5 4,017.9 0.4 29.8 0.0 0.7
Agriculture 333.0 331.7 -1.3 1.8 -0.4 0.5
Forestry, fishing, mining, oil and gas 298.3 304.1 5.8 22.6 1.9 8.0
Utilities 125.6 125.3 -0.3 -9.3 -0.2 -6.9
Construction 993.2 1,018.8 25.6 87.1 2.6 9.3
Manufacturing 2,267.5 2,238.1 -29.4 -72.2 -1.3 -3.1
Services-producing sector 12,070.9 12,099.8 28.9 184.3 0.2 1.5
Trade 2,556.2 2,536.3 -19.9 53.4 -0.8 2.2
Transportation and warehousing 783.6 784.5 0.9 -31.4 0.1 -3.8
Finance, insurance, real estate and leasing 1,000.7 998.7 -2.0 54.2 -0.2 5.7
Professional, scientific and technical services 1,018.2 1,041.3 23.1 34.4 2.3 3.4
Business, building and other support services 634.0 634.2 0.2 7.6 0.0 1.2
Educational services 1,075.9 1,104.4 28.5 71.6 2.6 6.9
Health care and social assistance 1,737.1 1,714.4 -22.7 -29.2 -1.3 -1.7
Information, culture and recreation 744.5 727.7 -16.8 3.5 -2.3 0.5
Accommodation and food services 987.5 996.3 8.8 -16.3 0.9 -1.6
Other services 699.0 704.4 5.4 0.6 0.8 0.1
Public administration 834.1 857.5 23.4 35.9 2.8 4.4
Class of worker            
Public sector employees 3,106.3 3,144.1 37.8 113.9 1.2 3.8
Private sector 12,982.0 12,973.7 -8.3 100.4 -0.1 0.8
Private employees 10,473.0 10,472.1 -0.9 45.4 0.0 0.4
Self-employed 2,509.0 2,501.6 -7.4 55.0 -0.3 2.2
Note:Related to CANSIM tables 282-0088 and 282-0089.

Employment by type of work, age and sex, seasonally adjusted
  April 2005 March to April 2005 April 2004 to April 2005 April 2005 March to April 2005 April 2004 to April 2005 April 2005 March to April 2005 April 2004 to April 2005
  Seasonally adjusted
  Both sexes Men Women
  '000
Employment 16,117.7 29.3 214.2 8,549.9 -3.9 95.7 7,567.8 33.2 118.4
Full-time 13,137.9 49.6 167.8 7,615.3 2.5 90.0 5,522.5 47.0 77.7
Part-time 2,979.9 -20.1 46.4 934.6 -6.3 5.7 2,045.3 -13.8 40.7
15-24 2,455.2 1.4 5.0 1,221.1 -14.5 -37.3 1,234.1 15.8 42.3
25 and over 13,662.6 28.1 209.3 7,328.8 10.6 133.1 6,333.7 17.3 76.1
25-54 11,464.5 3.8 70.0 6,057.5 0.2 55.4 5,407.0 3.5 14.6
55 and over 2,198.0 24.2 139.2 1,271.3 10.4 77.6 926.7 13.8 61.5
Note:Related CANSIM table 282-0087.

Labour force characteristics for both sexes, aged 15 and over
  March 2005 April 2005 March to April 2005 March 2005 April 2005 March to April 2005
  Seasonally adjusted
  Labour force Participation rate
  '000 % change % change
Canada 17,281.0 17,290.1 0.1 67.3 67.2 -0.1
Newfoundland and Labrador 254.3 252.9 -0.6 59.1 58.8 -0.3
Prince Edward Island 76.3 76.0 -0.4 68.5 68.2 -0.3
Nova Scotia 484.6 485.7 0.2 63.8 63.9 0.1
New Brunswick 385.9 386.8 0.2 63.3 63.4 0.1
Quebec 4,041.2 4,021.6 -0.5 65.6 65.2 -0.4
Ontario 6,819.1 6,842.3 0.3 68.1 68.2 0.1
Manitoba 608.9 605.2 -0.6 68.6 68.2 -0.4
Saskatchewan 516.4 510.8 -1.1 69.0 68.2 -0.8
Alberta 1,846.0 1,857.8 0.6 72.8 73.1 0.3
British Columbia 2,248.2 2,251.0 0.1 65.6 65.6 0.0
  Employment Employment rate
  '000 % change % change
Canada 16,088.4 16,117.7 0.2 62.6 62.7 0.1
Newfoundland and Labrador 216.5 212.2 -2.0 50.3 49.3 -1.0
Prince Edward Island 68.4 68.1 -0.4 61.4 61.1 -0.3
Nova Scotia 443.1 444.9 0.4 58.3 58.5 0.2
New Brunswick 349.6 350.9 0.4 57.3 57.5 0.2
Quebec 3,710.8 3,704.9 -0.2 60.2 60.1 -0.1
Ontario 6,351.4 6,377.5 0.4 63.4 63.6 0.2
Manitoba 576.5 575.9 -0.1 65.0 64.9 -0.1
Saskatchewan 489.6 485.2 -0.9 65.4 64.8 -0.6
Alberta 1,781.6 1,783.8 0.1 70.2 70.2 0.0
British Columbia 2,101.0 2,114.3 0.6 61.3 61.6 0.3
  Unemployment Unemployment rate
  '000 % change % change
Canada 1,192.7 1,172.4 -1.7 6.9 6.8 -0.1
Newfoundland and Labrador 37.8 40.7 7.7 14.9 16.1 1.2
Prince Edward Island 7.9 7.9 0.0 10.4 10.4 0.0
Nova Scotia 41.6 40.9 -1.7 8.6 8.4 -0.2
New Brunswick 36.4 35.9 -1.4 9.4 9.3 -0.1
Quebec 330.5 316.7 -4.2 8.2 7.9 -0.3
Ontario 467.7 464.7 -0.6 6.9 6.8 -0.1
Manitoba 32.4 29.3 -9.6 5.3 4.8 -0.5
Saskatchewan 26.9 25.6 -4.8 5.2 5.0 -0.2
Alberta 64.4 74.0 14.9 3.5 4.0 0.5
British Columbia 147.2 136.8 -7.1 6.5 6.1 -0.4
Note:Related CANSIM table 282-0087.

Labour force characteristics for both sexes, aged 15 and over
  April 2004 April 2005 April 2004 to April 2005 April 2004 April 2005 April 2004 to April 2005
  Unadjusted
  Labour force Participation rate
  '000 % change % change
Canada 16,958.2 17,099.8 0.8 66.9 66.5 -0.4
Newfoundland and Labrador 247.6 246.3 -0.5 57.7 57.2 -0.5
Prince Edward Island 73.1 74.5 1.9 66.0 66.9 0.9
Nova Scotia 475.8 478.5 0.6 62.9 63.0 0.1
New Brunswick 377.5 378.7 0.3 62.2 62.1 -0.1
Quebec 4,003.8 3,990.3 -0.3 65.7 64.7 -1.0
Ontario 6,678.4 6,762.3 1.3 67.8 67.4 -0.4
Manitoba 603.3 601.3 -0.3 68.6 67.7 -0.9
Saskatchewan 501.3 504.1 0.6 67.4 67.3 -0.1
Alberta 1,819.3 1,835.6 0.9 72.9 72.3 -0.6
British Columbia 2,178.0 2,228.1 2.3 64.5 64.9 0.4
  Employment Employment rate
  '000 % change % change
Canada 15,684.4 15,898.9 1.4 61.9 61.8 -0.1
Newfoundland and Labrador 201.7 200.0 -0.8 47.0 46.5 -0.5
Prince Edward Island 60.9 63.2 3.8 55.0 56.7 1.7
Nova Scotia 428.9 434.3 1.3 56.7 57.1 0.4
New Brunswick 333.0 336.2 1.0 54.9 55.1 0.2
Quebec 3,644.3 3,656.6 0.3 59.8 59.3 -0.5
Ontario 6,230.9 6,312.7 1.3 63.2 63.0 -0.2
Manitoba 569.5 570.1 0.1 64.8 64.2 -0.6
Saskatchewan 471.9 476.2 0.9 63.4 63.6 0.2
Alberta 1,734.9 1,758.9 1.4 69.5 69.2 -0.3
British Columbia 2,008.4 2,090.6 4.1 59.5 60.9 1.4
  Unemployment Unemployment rate
  '000 % change % change
Canada 1,273.8 1,200.9 -5.7 7.5 7.0 -0.5
Newfoundland and Labrador 45.9 46.3 0.9 18.5 18.8 0.3
Prince Edward Island 12.3 11.3 -8.1 16.8 15.2 -1.6
Nova Scotia 46.9 44.2 -5.8 9.9 9.2 -0.7
New Brunswick 44.5 42.5 -4.5 11.8 11.2 -0.6
Quebec 359.5 333.7 -7.2 9.0 8.4 -0.6
Ontario 447.6 449.6 0.4 6.7 6.6 -0.1
Manitoba 33.8 31.1 -8.0 5.6 5.2 -0.4
Saskatchewan 29.4 27.9 -5.1 5.9 5.5 -0.4
Alberta 84.4 76.7 -9.1 4.6 4.2 -0.4
British Columbia 169.6 137.5 -18.9 7.8 6.2 -1.6
Note:Related CANSIM table 282-0087.



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