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Friday, September 4, 1998
For release at 8:30 a.m.
August 1998
Employment increased 37,000 in August, bringing gains over the last two months to 63,000 - more than offsetting the losses in May and June. So far this year, employment has grown 1.4% compared with a 2.0% gain over the same period last year. Unemployment fell slightly in August, dropping the unemployment rate by 0.1 percentage points to 8.3%, the lowest since August 1990.
Chart: Unemployment rate
Full-time employment was up 42,000 in August, offsetting much of the loss in June. Full-time employment has grown 1.1% so far this year, slower than the 1.8% increase during the first eight months of 1997.
Youths 15 to 24 years of age accounted for most of the overall employment growth in August, jumping 22,000. There was a similar increase in youth employment (+25,000) in July, and most of the gains in July and August were full time. The number of unemployed youths fell 17,000 in August, bringing their unemployment rate down 0.8 percentage points to 14.5%.
There was little overall change in the number of employed adults. An advance in full-time employment for adult men (+22,000) was offset by falling part-time employment among this group.
Chart: Employment
On average between May and August, 47.1% of 15 to 24 year old students were employed, up 1.6 percentage points from the average last summer. As a result of the increase in summer jobs, the student unemployment rate this summer (16.8%) was 2.7 percentage points lower compared with the same period in 1997.
Most of the improvement in the summer job market went to young students 15 to 19 years old. Compared with last summer, the proportion of 15 to 19 year old students who were employed increased 2.1 percentage points to 40.6%, on average. Among those with jobs, the proportion working part time was little changed at 68.5%. The unemployment rate for young students fell 3.3 percentage points from last summer to 19.7%.
The proportion of 20 to 24 year-olds who had work slipped 0.3 percentage points to 65.0%. Of these, 39.3% had part-time jobs, almost the same percentage as in 1997 (40.5%). Slightly lower labour force participation in 1998 brought the unemployment rate for this group down 1.6 points to 11.3%.
In August, self-employment rose by 56,000. Following declines in the latter half of 1997 and early 1998, self-employment has jumped by 100,000 since resuming an upward trend in April. The number of private sector employees edged down 23,000 in August while public sector employment was unchanged.
Chart: Index of employment growth by class
of worker
Employment rose by 20,000 in retail trade in August, the second consecutive month of growth in this industry. So far this year, retail trade employment has increased 2.5%.
Despite a return to work for those laid-off due to the General Motors strike in the United States, manufacturing employment fell by 23,000 in August because of drops in other areas of manufacturing. With losses over the last two months, employment in manufacturing was 2.3% higher than it was a year ago.
In August, agricultural employment increased 16,000, perhaps attributable to an early harvest of some crops. After strong gains at the start of the year, agricultural employment peaked in April before falling sharply in the next two months.
Construction employment increased in August (+13,000) for the second consecutive month. With improvements this summer, employment in construction is now at a four-year high.
Employment jumped by 31,000 in Quebec in August, bringing gains over the last two months to 49,000. Since the start of the year, employment in Quebec is up 39,000. With a 15,000 drop in unemployment, the unemployment rate in Quebec fell from 10.9% in July to 10.5% in August.
In Alberta, employment increased by 14,000, continuing the long-term upward trend in that province. Because of an increase in labour force participation in August, the unemployment rate edged up 0.1 percentage points to 5.5%.
An increase in labour force participation also caused New Brunswick's unemployment rate to rise. Despite an employment increase of 3,000, the unemployment rate jumped 0.7 percentage points to 11.9%. After rising in 1997, employment in New Brunswick has shown no clear trend this year.
There was a small decline in employment in Ontario, due mainly to a drop in manufacturing. So far this year, employment in Ontario is up 1.4% compared with a 2.6% gain over the same period in 1997. The unemployment rate in Ontario remained unchanged in August, at 7.2%.
Employment in Newfoundland fell by 7,000 in August. Employment has fallen by 12,000 in the last two months, erasing almost a year's worth of gains. Newfoundland's unemployment rate now stands at 18.9%, up 1.4 percentage points from July.
Employment also fell in Prince Edward Island (-2,000). This caused the unemployment rate in that province to increase by 1.0 percentage point to 13.4%.
There was little overall change in labour market conditions in the other provinces in August.
Available on CANSIM: matrices 3450-3471, 3483-3502 and table 00799999.
Available at 7 a.m. on the Internet (www.statcan.ca) under "Daily news".
For a summary, Labour force information, for the week ending August 15, 1998 (71-001-PPB, $11/$103) is available today. See How to order publications.
The next release of the Labour Force Survey will be on Friday October 9, 1998.
For further information on this release, contact Deborah Sunter (613-951-4740), Vincent Ferrao (613-951-4750), Household Surveys Division.
Table: Labour force characteristics for both sexes, aged 15 and over
______________________________________________________________________________
July 1998 Aug. 1998 July 1998 to
Aug. 1998
______________________________________________________________________________
seasonally adjusted
_______________________________________________
Labour force
_______________________________________________
'000 % change
______________________________ _____________
Canada 15,580.0 15,605.0 0.2
Newfoundland 239.3 234.8 -1.9
Prince Edward Island 71.2 70.2 -1.4
Nova Scotia 448.7 449.9 0.3
New Brunswick 358.7 364.7 1.7
Quebec 3,716.3 3,732.1 0.4
Ontario 6,022.0 6,003.5 -0.3
Manitoba 577.7 582.3 0.8
Saskatchewan 506.6 511.3 0.9
Alberta 1,599.6 1,616.1 1.0
British Columbia 2,040.0 2,040.1 0.0
Employment
_______________________________________________
'000 % change
______________________________ _____________
Canada 14,269.6 14,306.4 0.3
Newfoundland 197.4 190.4 -3.5
Prince Edward Island 62.4 60.7 -2.7
Nova Scotia 401.3 402.1 0.2
New Brunswick 318.4 321.2 0.9
Québec 3,310.3 3,340.8 0.9
Ontario 5,590.0 5,572.5 -0.3
Manitoba 547.1 549.6 0.5
Saskatchewan 476.0 478.0 0.4
Alberta 1,513.2 1,527.3 0.9
British Columbia 1,853.5 1,863.8 0.6
Unemployment
_______________________________________________
'000 % change
______________________________ _____________
Canada 1,310.5 1,298.7 -0.9
Newfoundland 41.9 44.4 6.0
Prince Edward Island 8.8 9.4 6.8
Nova Scotia 47.5 47.8 0.6
New Brunswick 40.3 43.5 7.9
Québec 406.1 391.4 -3.6
Ontario 432.0 431.0 -0.2
Manitoba 30.7 32.8 6.8
Saskatchewan 30.5 33.3 9.2
Alberta 86.3 88.8 2.9
British Columbia 186.5 176.4 -5.4
______________________________________________________________________________
July 1998 Aug. 1998 July to Aug.
1998
______________________________________________________________________________
seasonally adjusted
_______________________________________________
Participation rate
_______________________________________________
% change
______________________________ _____________
Canada 64.9 64.9 0.0
Newfoundland 53.8 52.8 -1.0
Prince Edward Island 66.5 65.5 -1.0
Nova Scotia 60.1 60.3 0.2
New Brunswick 59.2 60.2 1.0
Quebec 62.3 62.5 0.2
Ontario 66.0 65.7 -0.3
Manitoba 67.0 67.5 0.5
Saskatchewan 66.4 66.9 0.5
Alberta 71.8 72.3 0.5
British Columbia 64.7 64.7 0.0
Employment rate
_______________________________________________
% change
______________________________ _____________
Canada 59.4 59.5 0.1
Newfoundland 44.3 42.8 -1.5
Prince Edward Island 58.3 56.7 -1.6
Nova Scotia 53.8 53.9 0.1
New Brunswick 52.6 53.0 0.4
Québec 55.4 55.9 0.5
Ontario 61.3 61.0 -0.3
Manitoba 63.4 63.7 0.3
Saskatchewan 62.4 62.6 0.2
Alberta 67.9 68.3 0.4
British Columbia 58.8 59.1 0.3
Unemployment rate
_______________________________________________
% change
______________________________ _____________
Canada 8.4 8.3 -0.1
Newfoundland 17.5 18.9 1.4
Prince Edward Island 12.4 13.4 1.0
Nova Scotia 10.6 10.6 0.0
New Brunswick 11.2 11.9 0.7
Québec 10.9 10.5 -0.4
Ontario 7.2 7.2 0.0
Manitoba 5.3 5.6 0.3
Saskatchewan 6.0 6.5 0.5
Alberta 5.4 5.5 0.1
British Columbia 9.1 8.6 -0.5
______________________________________________________________________________
Table: Labour force characteristics for both sexes, aged 15 and over
______________________________________________________________________________
Aug. 1997 Aug. 1998 Aug. 1997 to
Aug. 1998
______________________________________________________________________________
unadjusted
_______________________________________________
Labour force
_______________________________________________
'000 % change
______________________________ _____________
Canada 15,852.4 16,064.6 1.3
Newfoundland 258.0 254.9 -1.2
Prince Edward Island 76.9 75.9 -1.3
Nova Scotia 465.0 471.0 1.3
New Brunswick 385.0 389.6 1.2
Quebec 3,771.2 3,837.3 1.8
Ontario 6,109.9 6,167.0 0.9
Manitoba 584.8 594.7 1.7
Saskatchewan 523.1 528.4 1.0
Alberta 1,597.4 1,658.7 3.8
British Columbia 2,081.0 2,087.0 0.3
Employment
_______________________________________________
'000 % change
______________________________ _____________
Canada 14,458.2 14,766.3 2.1
Newfoundland 213.7 208.8 -2.3
Prince Edward Island 68.9 68.5 -0.6
Nova Scotia 413.2 423.1 2.4
New Brunswick 342.8 349.0 1.8
Quebec 3,360.1 3,455.3 2.8
Ontario 5,608.1 5,727.6 2.1
Manitoba 547.7 560.5 2.3
Saskatchewan 494.4 494.5 0.0
Alberta 1,501.6 1,562.3 4.0
British Columbia 1,907.8 1,916.9 0.5
Unemployment
_______________________________________________
'000 % change
______________________________ _____________
Canada 1,394.2 1,298.3 -6.9
Newfoundland 44.3 46.1 4.1
Prince Edward Island 8.1 7.5 -7.4
Nova Scotia 51.8 48.0 -7.3
New Brunswick 42.2 40.6 -3.8
Quebec 411.1 382.0 -7.1
Ontario 501.8 439.4 -12.4
Manitoba 37.1 34.3 -7.5
Saskatchewan 28.8 33.9 17.7
Alberta 95.8 96.4 0.6
British Columbia 173.2 170.2 -1.7
______________________________________________________________________________
Aug. 1997 Aug. 1998 Aug. 1997 to
Aug. 1998
______________________________________________________________________________
unadjusted
_______________________________________________
Participation rate
_______________________________________________
% change
______________________________ _____________
Canada 66.8 66.9 0.1
Newfoundland 57.4 57.3 -0.1
Prince Edward Island 71.6 70.9 -0.7
Nova Scotia 62.6 63.1 0.5
New Brunswick 63.8 64.3 0.5
Quebec 63.6 64.2 0.6
Ontario 67.9 67.5 -0.4
Manitoba 67.8 68.9 1.1
Saskatchewan 68.7 69.2 0.5
Alberta 73.8 74.2 0.4
British Columbia 67.0 66.2 -0.8
Employment rate
_______________________________________________
% change
______________________________ _____________
Canada 60.9 61.5 0.6
Newfoundland 47.5 46.9 -0.6
Prince Edward Island 64.2 64.0 -0.2
Nova Scotia 55.6 56.7 1.1
New Brunswick 56.8 57.6 0.8
Quebec 56.6 57.9 1.3
Ontario 62.4 62.7 0.3
Manitoba 63.5 64.9 1.4
Saskatchewan 65.0 64.7 -0.3
Alberta 69.4 69.9 0.5
British Columbia 61.4 60.8 -0.6
Unemployment rate
_______________________________________________
% change
______________________________ _____________
Canada 8.8 8.1 -0.7
Newfoundland 17.2 18.1 0.9
Prince Edward Island 10.5 9.9 -0.6
Nova Scotia 11.1 10.2 -0.9
New Brunswick 11.0 10.4 -0.6
Quebec 10.9 10.0 -0.9
Ontario 8.2 7.1 -1.1
Manitoba 6.3 5.8 -0.5
Saskatchewan 5.5 6.4 0.9
Alberta 6.0 5.8 -0.2
British Columbia 8.3 8.2 -0.1
______________________________________________________________________________
July 1998
Municipalities issued $2.8 billion in building permits in July, up only 1% over June. Construction intentions for housing sagged for the third time in four months.
The value of residential permits declined 3.4% to $1.4 billion. On the other hand, intentions in the non-residential sector rose 5.6% to $1.4 billion. Increases in the commercial and industrial components more than offset a slowdown in institutional intentions.
The housing sector has recorded monthly declines since April, except for a slight rebound during June. Intentions for single-family dwellings, which represent about 70% of the residential sector, have been particularly hard hit this year - falling six times in seven months.
Chart: Sagging residential sector takes
its toll on total intentions
Both housing components contributed to the 3.4% monthly decline in July. Permits for multi-family housing fell 10.3% to $382 million, while the decline in the single-family sector was more moderate (-0.5% to $995 million).
Permits for multi-family dwellings have remained extremely active since the beginning of 1998. However, the total value of housing permits between January and July is down 3.0% from the same period in 1997. The decrease in new construction intentions may be explained partly by an increasing number of unsold units of newly completed dwellings on the market. Also, the Canadian Real Estate Association reported that sales of existing houses since the beginning of the year were at their second-highest level in 10 years.
While most market indicators remain encouraging (high consumer confidence, steady housing prices and low mortgage rates), other factors are raising concerns regarding the housing sector. Among them, are the levelling-out of employment since April 1998, a slowdown in total economic activity in the second quarter, and a decrease in personal disposable income.
Unless otherwise stated, this release presents seasonally adjusted data, which ease comparisons by removing the effects of seasonal variations.
The Building and demolitions permits monthly survey covers 2,600 municipalities representing 94% of the population. It provides an early indication of building activity. The communities representing the other 6% of the population are very small, and their levels of building activity have little impact on the total.
The value of planned construction activities shown in this release excludes engineering projects (e.g., waterworks, sewers, culverts) and land. The annual rate is a monthly figure that has been seasonally adjusted and multiplied by 12 to reflect annual levels.
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported a 4.3% reduction in housing starts since the beginning of the year, which reflects the decline in residential construction intentions.
Although the cumulative value of residential permits for the year is down compared with the first seven months of 1997, it remains 15.9% ahead of the same period in 1996 and 33.1% ahead of the same period in 1995.
Provincially in July, the most significant increases occurred in the Northwest Territories, Newfoundland and New Brunswick, due to advances in both single- and multi-family housing intentions in all three regions. In the Northwest Territories and Newfoundland, multi-family dwellings led the way, while plans for single-family houses led in New Brunswick.
The most significant decreases occurred in British Columbia, Quebec and Saskatchewan. Both the single- and multi-family components were responsible for the decline in British Columbia and Quebec. In Saskatchewan, a decline in the value of multi-residential permits more than offset an increase in single-family intentions. However, July's drop in multi-residential intentions in Saskatchewan followed a strong increase in June.
Chart: Non-residential sector maintains
its pace
Commercial and industrial intentions increased in July, while institutional intentions declined. The overall increase in July brought the non-residential total for the year to $9.3 billion, up 35.5% over the first seven months of 1997. Non-residential intentions increased in 9 out of the 12 regions in Canada in July.
The commercial component led the way with an 11.9% increase over June to $740 million. This was the second highest level of the year and the third highest monthly level since March 1990. The activity came from a significant increase in construction plans in the warehouses and hotels and restaurants categories. The commercial component has remained active in 1998, with building permits valued at $4.7 billion issued so far this year, 35.5% above the same period in 1997.
The industrial sector posted a 3.8% increase over June to $410 million, the highest figure so far this year. It was also the highest figure since November 1997, when the value of industrial building permits surpassed the half-billion-dollar mark for the first time in almost eight years. Most of the activity came on the heels of major projects in manufacturing. July's results brought the total value for industrial building permits to $2.5 billion, up 32.7% over the first seven months of 1997.
On the other hand, the institutional sector declined 6.6% over June to $261 million - despite a significant increase in construction plans for religious and for health and care homes (e.g., nursing homes or daycare centres). Despite the decline in July, institutional permits have reached $2.1 billion so far this year, 38.8% above the same period in 1997.
Provincially in July, British Columbia (+45.9% to $258 million) and Quebec (+22.8% to $288 million) presented the largest increases. All three components, but mostly commercial projects, were responsible for the increase in both provinces.
The largest decline occurred in Ontario, where all three components fell, which led to an overall 23.3% decline in the value of non-residential permits to $403 million. However, the value of these permits for the year in Ontario was still 32.3% higher compared with the first seven months of 1997.
Available on CANSIM: matrices 80 (levels 3-7 and 33-48), 129, 137, 443, 989-992, 994, 995 and 4073.
The July 1998 issue of Building permits will be available shortly via the Internet (64-001-XIB, $19/$186). See How to order publications.
The August 1998 building permits estimate will be released on October 6, 1998. For further information, contact Joanne Bureau (613-951-9689; burejoa@statcan.gc.ca). For analytical information, contact Alain Paquet (613-951-2025; paquala@statcan.gc.ca), Current Investment Indicators Section, Investment and Capital Stock Division.
Table: Value of building permits
______________________________________________________________________________
June 1998(r) July 1998(p) June 1998 to
July 1998
______________________________________________________________________________
Seasonally adjusted
_______________________________________________
$ millions % change
______________________________ _____________
Canada 2,761.4 2,788.2 1.0
Residential 1,425.8 1,377.4 -3.4
Non-residential 1,335.6 1,410.8 5.6
Newfoundland 13.4 21.5 60.4
Residential 7.8 13.0 66.8
Non-residential 5.6 8.5 51.6
Prince Edward Island 8.9 12.1 36.1
Residential 5.0 4.4 -11.0
Non-residential 3.9 7.7 95.3
Nova Scotia 51.9 58.9 13.6
Residential 27.5 26.6 -3.2
Non-residential 24.4 32.3 32.5
New Brunswick 41.1 55.2 34.3
Residential 19.7 23.0 16.5
Non-residential 21.3 32.2 50.8
Quebec 459.3 499.8 8.8
Residential 224.8 211.9 -5.8
Non-residential 234.5 287.9 22.8
Ontario 1,121.7 997.3 -11.1
Residential 596.1 594.0 -0.4
Non-residential 525.6 403.3 -23.3
Manitoba 65.6 72.3 10.2
Residential 25.0 27.5 10.1
Non-residential 40.7 44.8 10.2
Saskatchewan 51.8 41.9 -19.1
Residential 26.1 17.4 -33.5
Non-residential 25.6 24.5 -4.4
Alberta 512.6 551.7 7.6
Residential 245.8 246.2 0.2
Non-residential 266.8 305.4 14.5
British Columbia 416.7 455.6 9.3
Residential 240.1 197.8 -17.6
Non-residential 176.7 257.8 45.9
Yukon 2.2 4.7 111.3
Residential 1.8 2.2 21.6
Non-residential 0.4 2.5 480.0
Northwest Territories 16.3 17.2 5.9
Residential 6.2 13.4 116.0
Non-residential 10.1 3.9 -61.7
______________________________________________________________________________
July 1997 to
July 1998
______________________________________________________________________________
Seasonally
adjusted
% change
Canada 8.6
Residential -11.1
Non-residential 38.8
Newfoundland 57.2
Residential 61.1
Non-residential 51.6
Prince Edward Island 30.8
Residential -17.1
Non-residential 95.6
Nova Scotia 16.9
Residential -24.1
Non-residential 110.3
New Brunswick 46.9
Residential 14.0
Non-residential 85.1
Quebec 22.0
Residential -6.2
Non-residential 56.8
Ontario -10.3
Residential -14.7
Non-residential -2.8
Manitoba 37.6
Residential 7.9
Non-residential 65.5
Saskatchewan -33.0
Residential -32.4
Non-residential -33.5
Alberta 79.4
Residential 26.7
Non-residential 169.9
British Columbia -9.0
Residential -36.1
Non-residential 34.9
Yukon 14.1
Residential -8.1
Non-residential 44.1
Northwest Territories 138.3
Residential 772.4
Non-residential -32.1
______________________________________________________________________________
(r) Revised data.
(p) Preliminary data.
Note: Data may not add to totals due to rounding.
Seven-day period ending August 21, 1998
Carloadings of freight (excluding intermodal traffic) during the seven-day period ending August 21, 1998, decreased 7.3% to 4.6 million tonnes compared with the same period last year. The number of cars loaded also decreased 7.2%.
Intermodal traffic (piggyback) tonnage totalled 323 000 tonnes, a 3.8% decrease compared with the same period last year. Year-to-date figures are down 2.8%.
Total traffic (carloadings of freight and intermodal traffic) decreased 7.0% during the period. This brought the year-to-date total to 163.0 million tonnes, down 1.6% from 1997.
All year-to-date figures have been revised.
For further information on this release, contact Robert Larocque (613-951-2486; fax: 613-951-0009; laroque@statcan.gc.ca ), Transportation Division.
July 1998
Manufacturers shipped 1 228 929 metric tonnes of cement in July, down 7.1% from 1 322 844 tonnes in July 1997, and down 5.6% from 1 302 376 tonnes in June 1998.
Year-to-date shipments totalled 6 281 818 tonnes, up 2.6% from 6 121 114 tonnes during the same period in 1997.
Available on CANSIM: matrices 92 and 122 (series 35).
The July 1998 issue of Cement (44-001-XPB, $7/$62) will be available shortly. See How to order publications.
For further information on this release, contact Randall Sheldrick (613-951-7199; shelran@statcan.gc.ca), Manufacturing, Construction and Energy Division.
June 1998
Coal production totalled 6 171 kilotonnes, up 0.2% from June 1997. Year-to-date production stood at 38 204 kilotonnes, up 1.0% from the same period in 1997.
Exports were down (-15.5% to 2 779 kilotonnes) compared with June 1997. Coal was delivered to Australia for the first time since 1989 in June. Exports to Japan (the largest consumer of Canadian coal) increased 2.2% to 1 667 kilotonnes during the same period. Year-to-date figures show total exports of 17 217 kilotonnes, 2.6% below last year's level.
Imports of coal rose 42.4% to 5 316 kilotonnes during the second quarter of 1998. Higher-than-anticipated demand for coal for electric power generation in Ontario (due to the temporary loss of part of its nuclear capacity) was the main reason for this high increase.
Coke production decreased to 250 kilotonnes in June, down 8.8% from June 1997.
Available on CANSIM: matrix 9.
The June 1998 issue of Coal and coke statistics (45-002-XPB, $12/$114) is now available. See How to order publications.
For further information on this release, contact André Lefebvre (613-951-3560; alefeba@statcan.gc.ca) Energy Section, Manufacturing, Construction and Energy Division.
1998/99
The increase in Ontario tuition fees, originally published in the August 25th Daily, has been revised. Based on data from the annual Survey of Tuition and Living Accommodation Costs at Canadian Universities, the average undergraduate arts tuition fee in Ontario in 1998/99 increased 9.2% from the year before to $3,564. The revised increase for Canada is 6.9%, to $3,197.
For further information on this release, contact Mongi Mouelhi (613-951-1537), Centre for Education Statistics.
Infomat - A weekly review, September 4, 1998
Catalogue number 11-002-XIE
(Canada: $3/$109; outside Canada: US$3/US$109).
Infomat - A weekly review, September 4, 1998
Catalogue number 11-002-XPE
(Canada: $4/$145; outside Canada: US$4/US$145).
Coal and coke statistics, June 1998
Catalogue number 45-002-XPB
(Canada: $12/$114; outside Canada: US$12/US$114).
Labour force information, week ending August 15, 1998
Catalogue number 71-001-PPB
(Canada: $11/$103; outside Canada: US$11/US$103).
All prices exclude sales tax.