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Labour Force Survey, June 2019

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Released: 2019-07-05

In June, employment held steady for the second consecutive month. The unemployment rate rose 0.1 percentage points to 5.5% as the number of people looking for work increased.

In the second quarter, employment rose by 132,000 (+0.7%), virtually all in full-time work.

On a year-over-year basis, employment was up by 421,000 or 2.3%. Over the same period, total hours worked increased by 1.8%.

To explore the most recent results from the Labour Force Survey in an interactive format, visit the "Labour Force Survey in brief: Interactive app."

Chart 1  Chart 1: Employment
Employment

Chart 2  Chart 2: Unemployment rate
Unemployment rate

Highlights

Employment in June increased in Alberta and Saskatchewan, while it decreased in Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador. Employment was little changed in the remaining provinces.

There were more people employed in health care and social assistance; educational services; transportation and warehousing; and information, culture and recreation. In contrast, there were fewer people working in wholesale and retail trade; "other services"; manufacturing; and natural resources.

The number of employees increased in June, while the number of self-employed declined.

More people aged 55 and over were working in June, driven by increases among men. At the same time, fewer men in the core-working age of 25 to 54 were employed. There was little change among both core-aged women and youth aged 15 to 24.

Employment up in Alberta and Saskatchewan

In Alberta, employment rose by 10,000 in June, as an increase in full-time work more than offset a decline in part-time work. This growth was driven by gains in accommodation and food services; educational services; and health care and social assistance. The unemployment rate was little changed at 6.6%. On a year-over-year basis, employment in Alberta grew by 30,000 (+1.3%), entirely due to gains in the second quarter of 2019.

Employment in Saskatchewan rose by 2,500, with most of the growth occurring in the accommodation and food services industry. The unemployment rate was little changed at 5.1%. Compared with June 2018, employment in the province grew by 9,300 (+1.6%).

In Manitoba, employment decreased by 5,200, driven by losses in part-time work. The unemployment rate increased 0.7 percentage points to 5.7%, as more people searched for work. Year over year, employment was little changed.

Employment in Newfoundland and Labrador was down by 2,000, the second consecutive monthly decline in the province. The unemployment rate increased 0.9 percentage points to 13.3%, as more people looked for work. Compared with 12 months earlier, employment in the province was virtually unchanged as gains in full-time work were offset by losses in part-time work.

In Quebec, employment was little changed for the second consecutive month. The unemployment rate was 4.9% in June, matching the 43-year low observed in April. On a year-over-year basis, employment in the province grew by 68,000 (+1.6%), all in full-time work.

Employment in British Columbia was little changed in June. The unemployment rate was also little changed at 4.5%. Compared with June 2018, employment in the province rose by 109,000 (+4.4%).

In Ontario, employment was little changed following two consecutive monthly increases. The unemployment rate increased 0.2 percentage points to 5.4% as more people searched for work. Year over year, employment in Ontario was up 184,000 (+2.5%).

Quarterly update for the territories

In the second quarter, employment in Nunavut rose by an estimated 700, following a decline in the first quarter. The unemployment rate held steady at 13.6%.

In Yukon, employment increased by an estimated 600 in the second quarter, following little change in the first quarter. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.0%.

For the second consecutive quarter in the Northwest Territories, there was little change in the employment level, as well as the unemployment rate (8.1%).

Industry overview

In health care and social assistance, employment grew by 22,000 in June, following an increase of a similar magnitude in May. Employment growth was observed across several provinces, led by British Columbia. Compared with 12 months earlier, employment in this industry grew by 108,000 (+4.5%) at the national level, the largest year-over-year increase since June 2010.

There were 13,000 more people employed in educational services, with gains concentrated in Quebec and Alberta. On a year-over-year basis, employment grew by 53,000 (+4.0%).

Employment in transportation and warehousing rose by 13,000, mostly in Ontario. Year-over-year employment gains in this industry totalled 63,000 (+6.3%).

In information, culture and recreation, employment was up by 13,000 in June, with most of the increase coming from Quebec. Employment in this industry has been trending upward since the start of 2019, following a downward trend in the second half of 2018. There was little change in employment over the previous 12 months.

There were 16,000 fewer people working in wholesale and retail trade in June, mainly due to declines in Ontario and Alberta. Compared with June 2018, employment in this industry was up 72,000 (+2.6%).

In "other services," employment declined by 15,000, driven by Quebec and British Columbia. This industry includes services such as repair and maintenance, and personal and laundry services. On a year-over-year basis, employment in this industry grew by 34,000 (+4.3%).

Employment in manufacturing was down by 15,000, the first monthly decrease since July 2018. Declines were observed in several provinces, notably Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta. On a year-over-year basis, national employment in manufacturing held steady.

In natural resources, employment decreased by 7,800. Compared with June 2018, employment was down by 11,000 (-3.3%).

Number of employees up in June

There was little change in the number of employees in both the private and public sectors in June. Collectively, the total number of employees in these two sectors rose by 39,000 (+0.2%). At the same time, self-employment was down by 41,000 (-1.4%).

On a year-over-year basis, the number of private sector employees was up by 354,000 (+3.0%), while public sector employment and self-employment were little changed.

Employment up for those aged 55 and over, down for core-aged men

Employment among people aged 55 and over grew by 22,000 in June, driven by increases among men (+16,000). The unemployment rate for this age group declined by 0.6 percentage points to 4.7%. Compared with June 2018, employment for those aged 55 and over was up by 156,000 (+3.9%), with gains among both men and women.

Employment decreased by 18,000 among men in the core working ages of 25 to 54, and their unemployment rate increased by 0.4 percentage points to 5.1%. At the same time, there was little change in employment among core-aged women, while their unemployment rate rose by 0.2 percentage points to 4.3%. Compared with 12 months earlier, employment in this age group grew by 115,000 (+2.0%) for women and by 95,000 (+1.5%) for men.

Among youth aged 15 to 24, employment was little changed, while their unemployment rate increased 0.7 percentage points to 10.7% as more of them searched for work. On a year-over-year basis, youth employment increased by 56,000 (+2.3%).

Summer employment for students

From May to August, the Labour Force Survey collects labour market data on youths aged 15 to 24 who were attending school full time in March and who intend to return to school full time in the fall. The June survey results provide an early indication of the summer job market, especially for students aged 20 to 24, as many younger students are still in school. As published data are not seasonally adjusted, comparisons can only be made with data for the same month in previous years.

Employment among 20- to 24-year-old students edged up in June compared with 12 months earlier. Their employment rate rose by 4.0 percentage points to 69.8%, the highest rate for the month of June since 2008. On a year-over-year basis, the unemployment rate for these students declined 2.9 percentage points to 8.0%, the lowest unemployment rate in the month of June since data became available in 1977.

There were 28,000 (+6.1%) more 17- to 19-year-old students working in June 2019 compared with June 2018. Virtually all of the increase was in part-time work. The unemployment rate for these younger students rose by 1.8 percentage points to 14.1%, as more of them were seeking employment. At the same time, their employment rate was little changed at 55.0%.















Sustainable Development Goals

On January 1, 2016, the world officially began implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development—the United Nations' transformative plan of action that addresses urgent global challenges over the next 15 years. The plan is based on 17 specific sustainable development goals.

The Labour Force Survey is an example of how Statistics Canada supports the reporting on the Global Goals for Sustainable Development. This release will be used in helping to measure the following goals:

  Note to readers

The Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates for June are for the week of June 9 to 15.

The LFS estimates are based on a sample and are therefore subject to sampling variability. As a result, monthly estimates will show more variability than trends observed over longer time periods. For more information, see "Interpreting Monthly Changes in Employment from the Labour Force Survey."

Estimates for smaller geographic areas or industries also have more variability. For an explanation of the sampling variability of estimates and how to use standard errors to assess this variability, consult the "Data quality" section of the publication Labour Force Information (Catalogue number71-001-X).

This analysis focuses on differences between estimates that are statistically significant at the 68% confidence level.

The LFS estimates are the first in a series of labour market indicators released by Statistics Canada, which includes indicators from programs such as the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (SEPH), Employment Insurance Statistics, and the Job Vacancy and Wage Survey. For more information on the conceptual differences between employment measures from the LFS and SEPH, refer to section 8 of the Guide to the Labour Force Survey (Catalogue number71-543-G).

The employment rate is the number of employed people as a percentage of the population aged 15 and older. The rate for a particular group (for example, youths aged 15 to 24) is the number employed in that group as a percentage of the population for that group.

The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed people as a percentage of the labour force (employed and unemployed).

The participation rate is the number of employed and unemployed people as a percentage of the population.

Full-time employment consists of persons who usually work 30 hours or more per week at their main or only job.

Part-time employment consists of persons who usually work less than 30 hours per week at their main or only job.

Total hours worked refers to the number of hours actually worked at the main job by the respondent during the reference week, including paid and unpaid hours. These hours reflect temporary decreases or increases in work hours (for example, hours lost due to illness, vacation, holidays, or weather; or more hours worked due to overtime).

In general, month-to-month or year-to-year changes in the number of people employed in an age group reflect the net effect of two factors: (1) the number of people who changed employment status between reference periods; and (2) the number of employed people who entered or left the age group (including through aging, death or migration) between reference periods.

To align with priorities established by the Gender Results Framework, new indicators have been added to tables 14-10-0340-02, 14-10-0335-02, 14-10-0335-03 and 14-10-0327-03, detailing LFS characteristics by gender. These new indicators highlight the differences in employment characteristics between women and men, such as the wage gap by occupation, the proportion employed by occupation, and the proportion working full-time or part-time jobs.

Seasonal adjustment

Unless otherwise stated, this release presents seasonally adjusted estimates, which facilitate comparisons by removing the effects of seasonal variations. For more information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questions.

Chart 1 shows trend-cycle data on employment. These data represent a smoothed version of the seasonally adjusted time series, which provides information on longer-term movements, including changes in direction underlying the series. These data are available for the national and provincial employment series in table 14-10-0287-01 and for national employment by industry in table 14-10-0355-01. For more information, see the StatCan Blog and Trend-cycle estimates – Frequently asked questions.

Next release

The next release of the LFS will be on August 9.

Products

Labour Force Information (Catalogue number71-001-X), is now available for the week ending June 15.

More information about the concepts and use of the Labour Force Survey is available online in the Guide to the Labour Force Survey (Catalogue number71-543-G).

The product "Labour Force Survey in brief: Interactive app" (Catalogue number14200001) is now available. This interactive visualization application provides seasonally adjusted estimates available by province, sex, age group and industry. Historical estimates going back five years are also included for monthly employment changes and unemployment rates. The interactive application allows users to quickly and easily explore and personalize the information presented. Combine multiple provinces, sexes and age groups to create your own labour market domains of interest.

The product "Labour Market Indicators, by census metropolitan area, seasonally adjusted" (Catalogue number71-607-X) is also available. This interactive dashboard provides easy, customizable access to key labour market indicators. Users can now configure an interactive map and chart showing labour force characteristics at the national, provincial or census metropolitan area level.

The product "Labour Market Indicators, by province, territory and economic region, unadjusted for seasonality" (Catalogue number71-607-X) is also available. This dynamic web application provides access to Statistics Canada's labour market indicators for Canada, by province, territory and economic region and allows users to view a snapshot of key labour market indicators, observe geographical rankings for each indicator using an interactive map and table, and easily copy data into other programs.

Contact information

For more information, contact us (toll-free: 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@canada.ca).

To enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Dylan Saunders (613-762-6972; dylan.saunders@canada.ca) or Emmanuelle Bourbeau (613-951-3007; emmanuelle.bourbeau@canada.ca), Labour Statistics Division.

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