Labour Force Survey: Nova Scotia Highlights
Labour Force Survey: Nova Scotia Highlights
Overview
Employment in Nova Scotia increased slightly in December by 700 jobs (+0.1%). The unemployment rate rose to 6.7% by 0.7 percentage points. This issue of the Labour Market Information News monitors the key labour market indicators in December. The December Labour Force Survey references the week of December 4 to 10 and compares it to the week of November 6 to 12.
Snapshot of Nova Scotia’s Labour Market in December 2022(1)
Compared to November 2022

- The labour force expanded by 0.9% to 513,600, with 4,500 more people entering the labour market than leaving. The labour participation rate rose by 0.5 percentage points to 61% in December.

- Nova Scotia’s seasonally adjusted employment level expanded marginally by 0.1% in December (+700 jobs) as the gains in part-time employment (+2.2%) were partially offset by the loss in full-time positions (-0.2%).

- Nova Scotia’s unemployment rate rose to 6.7% by 0.7 percentage points, back to the October level after a dip in November. It is still within the low range that Nova Scotia has seen in the last 40 years.

- The employment rate (number of employed as a proportion of the whole labour force population aged 15 and over) remained unchanged at 56.8% in December.
Employment Data in December 2022
Compared to November 2022 and December 2021

- Employment levels in December were lower for Nova Scotia men (-1,100 jobs, -0.5%) and higher for women (+1,700 jobs, +0.7%). Men lost 3,200 full-time jobs (-1.5%) while women gained 2,200 full-time positions (+1.2%). Men gained 2,100 part-time jobs (+7.5%) while women were down by 500 part-time jobs (-1.0%). Both men and women surpassed their employment levels from a year ago by 2.9% and 2.7% respectively.
- Youth (aged 15-24) led employment gains in December. They gained 1,700 jobs (+2.7%) while core-aged workers (aged 25-54) and those over 55 lost 700 jobs (-0.2%) and 400 jobs (-0.3%) respectively. However, youth employment is yet still 900 jobs (-1.4%) lower compared to a year ago.
- Full-time employment dropped by 1,000 jobs (-0.2%) in December. It is 5.3% above its December 2021 level (+20,200 jobs). Part-time employment rose by 1,700 jobs (+2.2%) in December and remains 6,900 jobs lower than a year prior (-7.9%).
- The goods-producing sector lost 1,900 jobs in December (-2.0%) while the services-producing sector added 2,500 jobs (+0.6%). The top expanding industries were “professional, scientific and technical services” (+1,400, +3.8%), “transportation and warehousing” (+1,200, +5.9%), and “construction” (+900, +2.3%). The industries that lost the most jobs were “manufacturing” (-2,000, -5.9%), “accommodation and food services” (-1,100, -3.8%), and “business, building and other support services” (-900, -5.0%).
Industry Impacts

- Compared to December of last year, employment gains were largest in the “construction” sector (+5,400, +15.8%). This was followed by “health care and social assistance” (+5,000, +7.3%), and “public administration” (+2,500, +3.9%).
- Employment losses compared to a year earlier were largest in the “transportation and warehousing” sector (-5,400, -13.0%), followed by “wholesale and retail trade” (-2,900, -1.6%), and “agriculture” (-2,700, -40.9%).
Economic Region

*Note: The regional statistics is a 3-month moving average and seasonally unadjusted. Therefore, it is not comparable to the statistics used in the rest of the report and there is a delay in data showing the impact of lockdown.
- In December (three-month average from October to December) compared to November (September to November), only Southern (+900, +1.8%) and Cape Breton (500, +1.0%) regions posted job gains. Halifax retained its employment level while the remaining regions registered job losses, led by the North Shore region with a decline of 1,100 jobs (-1.7%), followed by the Annapolis Valley (-600, -1.0%) regions.
- Compared with one year ago (October to December 2021), all regions except for the North Shore region posted employment gains.(2)
Employment Level and Unemployment Rate

- The employment level in Nova Scotia rose by 0.1% in December, following an increase of 0.3% in November. The employment rate remained unchanged at 56.8% in December.
- The unemployment rate rose by 0.7 percentage points to 6.7% in December, still within the low range of unemployment rates that Nova Scotia has seen in the last 40 years.
Nova Scotia Monthly Unemployment Rates, by Gender and Age

- The overall youth unemployment rate rose 0.9 percentage points from November to December and reached 13.4%. The male youth unemployment rate remained unchanged at 13.1% in December, while the female youth unemployment rate rose by 1.7 percentage points.
Labour Market Outcomes of Visible Minorities in Atlantic Canada in December 2022(3)

- The employment rate (number of employed for the entire labour force population 15 and over) for visible minorities in Atlantic Canada was higher than for non-visible minorities (69.4% vs 54.6%) on average in the last three months ending in December 2022.
- Compared to November (3-month average from September to November) the employment rate of visible minorities rose by 0.4 points while the employment rate of people who are not visible minorities or indigenous people dropped by 0.5 points in Atlantic Canada.

- It is worth noting that aggregate data masks the fact that visible minorities and indigenous people face additional labour market barriers.
- There are large gaps among different visible minority groups. Among the groups with available data(4), Southeast Asians face the highest unemployment rates (10.3%), while only 3.6% of Filipinos and 2.7% of South Asians were unemployed in the last three months.
- Due to the relatively low participation rates of Blacks and Chinese, they face the lowest employment rates among all visible minority groups for whom data was reported (66.8% and 61.7%, respectively).
The next Labour Force Survey will be released on February 10th, 2023, covering the January 2023 labour market.
Labour Force Survey Glossary
Employment: Employed persons are those who, during the reference week, did any work for pay or profit or had a job and were absent from work.
Employment rate (employment/population ratio): Number of employed persons expressed as a percentage of the population 15 years of age and over. The employment rate for a particular group (for example, one defined by age, sex, marital status, or province) is the number employed in that group expressed as a percentage of the population for that group.
Labour force: Civilian non-institutional population 15 years of age and over who, during the survey reference week, were employed or unemployed. Prior to 1966, persons aged 14 and over were covered by the survey.
Participation rate: Total labour force expressed as a percentage of the population aged 15 years and over. The participation rate for a particular group (for example, women aged 25 years and over) is the labour force of that group expressed as a percentage of the population for that group.
Unemployment: Unemployed persons are those who, during reference week, were without work, were available for work and were either on temporary layoff, had looked for work in the past four weeks or had a job to start within the next four weeks.
Unemployment rate: Number of unemployed persons expressed as a percentage of the labour force. The unemployment rate for a particular group (for example, one defined by age, sex, or marital status) is the number of unemployed persons in that group expressed as a percentage of the labour force for that same group.
Source: Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey Guide
(1) Source: Statistics Canada, Table 14-10-0287-01, Adjusted for Seasonality, Both Sexes, Ages 15+.
(2) Source: Statistics Canada, Table 14-10-0388-01, three-month moving average, unadjusted for seasonality.
(3) Source: Statistics Canada, Table: 14-10-0373-01, three-month moving average, unadjusted for seasonality. Starting in March 2022, the Monthly Labour Force Survey started to report labour market indicators of visible minority groups averaged over the last three-month period instead of monthly indicators.
(4) Data not available for Arab, Latin American, West Asian, Korean, and Japanese minority groups.
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