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March 08, 2019US EMPLOYMENT, FEBRUARY 2019 The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports today that US non-farm payroll employment increased by 20,000 in January. Small revisions to the last two months were positive by a total of 13,000 compared to earlier estimates. February's employment increase was below the average of the previous 12 months that saw average monthly increases of 235,000.
Most sectors in the US saw little change in February, including manufacturing, leisure and hospitality, mining, retail trade, transportation and warehousing, information, financial activities, and government. Employment increases in professional and business services (+42,000), health care (+21,000), and wholesale trade (+11,000) offset the decline in construction of 31,000 jobs.
The US unemployment rate declined 0.2 percentage points to 3.8 per cent in February. Unemployment rates across most advanced economies (including Canada and Nova Scotia) are at levels below long run averages.
The US participation rate was unchanged at 63.2 per cent in February. Unlike unemployment rates, the US participation rate has failed to return to pre-recession levels and has only increased modestly since bottoming out in 2015, with fluctuations around a narrow range since the start of 2016 and a pickup in the past six months. Participation rates in Canada and Nova Scotia also declined in the years after the global financial crises. Canada's participation rate has also increased in recent months.
The US employment to population ratio was unchanged at 60.7 in February. The US employment rate has maintained a very gradual upward trend since the middle of 2013.
Employment rates in Canada trended up in 2016 and 2017 but remained below levels observed in 2008. In February the employment rate was up to 62.0 per cent in Canada. With an aging population and declining labour supply, Nova Scotia's employment rates trended down over 2012 to 2016 period. Improvement since late 2017 and a sharp rise in recent months has increased Nova Scotia’s employment rate to 58.1 per cent in February 2019.
Note: Canadian and US labour force statistics refer to different working-age cohorts. Nova Scotia and Canada data is reported up to February 2019.
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Statistics Canada Table 14-10-0287-02
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