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May 05, 2017US EMPLOYMENT, APRIL 2017 US non-farm employment rose +211,000 in April 2017, up from the 79,000 reported last month. Over the previous 12 months, employment increased by an average of +186,000 per month.
Employment in leisure and hospitality gained 55,000 jobs, while health care and social assistance increased by 37,000. Food services and drinking places continued to trend upwards, with gains of 26,000 this month.
The US civilian labour force increased 12,000 in April. Revisions to February and March employment estimates have resulted in gains over the past two months being 6,000 lower than previously reported. Over the past three months, job gains have averaged 174,000.
Comparing the US with Canada and Nova Scotia in April, the NS unemployment rate for April was 8.3 per cent while Canada's was 6.5 per cent. Although monthly unemployment rates are more variable in Nova Scotia (smaller sample size) the long run average of NS unemployment rates is typically higher than the US, except during the 2009 recession.
The US employment rate continued its slow upward trend in April reaching 60.2 per cent. This is higher than the NS April employment rate of 56.9 per cent, which has experienced some months of volatility. In comparison, the national employment rate in Canada has been on a rising trend since the middle of 2016.
The US participation rate decreased 0.1 percentage points in April to 62.9 per cent. The NS participation rate in the labour force has been volatile in recent months, falling slightly to 62.0 per cent in April. Canada's labour force participation rates have been stable at just under 66 per cent since 2015.
Note: NS and US labour force statistics refer to different working-age cohorts.
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Statistics Canada CANSIM table 282-0087
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