Labour Force Survey

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There was little change in employment in September, as full-time gains were offset by part-time losses. The unemployment rate edged down 0.1 percentage points to 8.0%, as fewer people, particularly youth, participated in the labour market.

Since September 2009, overall employment has risen by 349,000 (+2.1%).

In September, the part-time employment decline of 44,000 was mostly offset by an increase of 37,000 in full time. Over the past year, however, part-time employment has grown by 4.6% (+146,000), a faster pace than the 1.5% growth in full time (+203,000).

Employment among 15- to 24-year-olds declined in September. For workers aged 25 to 54, increases among men were offset by declines among women. Both men and women aged 55 and over posted employment increases.

In September, there were employment declines in Ontario, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, while Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador as well as Nova Scotia posted gains.

While employment declined in professional, scientific and technical services, it increased in transportation and warehousing. There were no notable changes in the other industries.

Average hourly wages for employees increased by 2.3% in September compared with a year ago, a rate of growth similar to that of the previous two months.

Declines among youths and gains among men aged 25 to 54

In September, employment among 15- to 24-year-olds fell by 42,000, with the decline concentrated in Ontario. Losses in recent months have erased gains from the start of the year, bringing youth employment back to levels of a year ago.

There were also declines among women aged 25 to 54 (-28,000) in September, which brought their employment to a level similar to that of one year earlier.

Employment among men aged 25 to 54 increased by 27,000 in September. With this increase, employment gains for this group have totalled 138,000 (+2.3%) over the past 12 months.

Employment among those aged 55 and over continued its longstanding upward trend in September, with increases of 20,000 for men and 17,000 for women. Over the past 12 months, employment for this age group has grown by 7.7% among men and 5.9% among women, the highest rates of growth among all demographic groups.

Employment losses in Ontario

Employment fell by 23,000 in Ontario in September. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 8.8%, as there were fewer people, particularly youth, participating in the labour market. Despite the decline in September, employment in Ontario grew by 127,000 (+1.9%) from a year earlier.

Following a notable gain in August, employment in Saskatchewan dropped by 4,600 in September, pushing the unemployment rate up 0.7 percentage points to 5.5%. Despite this loss, employment has increased by 7,000 (+1.3%) over the past 12 months.

There were 2,500 fewer workers in New Brunswick in September, bringing total losses over the past 12 months to 5,600 (-1.5%).

Employment in Prince Edward Island declined by 2,200. This brought employment back to the same level as a year earlier.

In Quebec, employment was up 15,000 in September, pushing the unemployment rate down 0.5 percentage points to 7.7%. The number of workers in Quebec has risen by 122,000, or 3.2%, over the past year, the second highest growth rate at the national level after Newfoundland and Labrador.

Newfoundland and Labrador posted employment gains of 4,900. This province has had the fastest rate of growth of all provinces over the past 12 months, at 5.3% (+11,000). At the same time, the unemployment rate has trended down, reaching 13.5% in September, the lowest rate since July 2008.

In Nova Scotia, employment rose by 3,500 in September, pushing the unemployment rate down 0.8 percentage points to 9.0%. Employment gains in the province have totalled 7,400 (+1.6%) over the past 12 months.

Professional, scientific and technical services down following a period of strong growth

In September, employment in professional, scientific and technical services declined by 32,000 (-2.4%). Despite this drop, employment in this industry has grown by 86,000, or 7.2%, over the past 12 months, one of the highest rates of growth among all major industries.

The number of workers in transportation and warehousing rose by 15,000 in September, bringing total gains to 30,000 (+3.8%) over the past 12 months.

There was little change in manufacturing employment, continuing a stable trend that emerged about a year ago.

Although construction was little changed in September, employment in this industry has been on an upward trend for over a year, with gains totalling 68,000, or 5.8%, over the past 12 months. Employment growth in construction has been among the fastest of all the major industry groups over the past year.

There was virtually no change in the number of public or private sector employees in September, while the number of self-employed edged down. During the past 12 months, growth in the public sector (+3.7% or +128,000) has outpaced that in the private sector (+2.4% or +261,000). Over the same period, the number of self-employed workers declined by 1.5% (-40,000).

Quarterly update on territories

The Labour Force Survey also collects labour market information about the territories. This information is produced monthly in the form of three-month moving averages. Not all estimates are seasonally adjusted; therefore, comparisons should only be made on a year-over-year basis.

Employment was higher in all three territories in the third quarter of 2010 compared with the same quarter in 2009. In the Northwest Territories, employment increased by 1,400 over the period, pushing the unemployment rate down 1.2 percentage points to 6.4%.

In Nunavut, employment increased by 900 for the three months ending in September 2010 compared with the same period in 2009. The unemployment rate was 14.2% in the third quarter of 2010, relatively unchanged from the same period in 2009.

In Yukon, 700 more people were working in the third quarter of 2010 compared with a year earlier. The unemployment rate, at 6.3%, was slightly higher than in the third quarter of 2009.

The unemployment rates for the Northwest Territories and Yukon are among the lowest in the country. These two territories also had the highest proportions of the working-age population that were employed, at 71.1% for Yukon and 68.9% for the Northwest Territories.

Available on CANSIM: tables 282-0001 to 282-0042, 282-0047 to 282-0064 and 282-0069 to 282-0108.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 3701.

A more detailed summary, Labour Force Information (71-001-X, free), is now available online for the week ending September 18. From the Key resource module of our website under Publications, choose All subjects, then Labour. LAN and bulk prices are available on request. The DVD-ROM Labour Force Historical Review, 2009 (71F0004X, $209), is now available. See How to order products.

Data tables are also now available online. From the Subject module of our website, choose Labour.

The next release of the Labour Force Survey will be on November 5.

For more information, or to order data, contact Client Services (toll-free 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; vincent.ferrao@statcan.gc.ca) or Lahouaria Yssaad (613-951-0627; lahouaria.yssaad@statcan.gc.ca), Labour Statistics Division.