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June 10, 2022LABOUR MARKET TRENDS, MAY 2022 Labour force survey results reflect the period from May 15 to 21.
Ages 15+ (May 2022 vs April 2022, seasonally adjusted)
Nova Scotia's seasonally adjusted employment decreased by 2,100 (-0.4%) from April 2022 to 479,400 in May 2022.
The decrease in employment was attributable to lower part-time employment (-3,100), while full-time employment was up (+1,000). These changes include variations in hours within the same job.
Nova Scotia’s labour force increased by 1,700 (+0.3%) to 513,800 in May 2022. This is the highest labour force on record.
With employment falling and labour force rising, Nova Scotia's unemployment rate rose from 6.0% in April 2022 to 6.7% in May 2022.
Nova Scotia's labour force participation rate was unchanged at 61.4% in May 2022. The employment rate was down 0.4 percentage points to 57.3% in May 2022. Although labour force and employment levels were above pre-COVID benchmarks, pre-COVID participation rates (62.6%) were higher in February 2020.
Ages 15+ (May 2022 vs May 2021, seasonally adjusted)
In May of 2021, Nova Scotia was experiencing an outbreak of COVID-19 requiring tighter restrictions that generated significant employment loss. Compared with the May of 2021, Nova Scotia's population increased by 18,100 while the labour force grew by 22,500 and employment increased by 35,100. The unemployment rate decreased by 2.9 percentage points while the participation rate rose by 1.4 percentage points. The employment rate increased by 3.0 percentage points.
Ages 15+ (January-May 2022 vs January-May 2021, seasonally adjusted)
Compared with the first five months of 2021, Nova Scotia's population has averaged 15,500 higher for January to May of 2022. The labour force was up by 6,700 and employment increased by 16,700. The unemployment rate decreased by 2.1 percentage points while the participation rate declined by 0.3 percentage points. The employment rate increased by 1.0 percentage points.
Age Cohorts (May 2022 vs April 2022, seasonally adjusted)
Among youth (ages 15-24), employment decreased 1,200 (-1.8%) while the labour force increased by 400 (+0.5%). The increase in the labour force resulted in the youth participation rate increasing to 68.2% while the employment rate fell to 60.1%. The decline in employment and rise in labour force moved the youth unemployment rate up to 12.0%.
The population aged 25-54 makes up the largest part of the labour force. In the core age group, employment increased by 600 (0.2%) and the labour force grew by 2,400 (+0.8%). The core aged unemployment rate was up to 5.1% in May. The core aged participation rate increased 0.3 percentage points to 86.3% while the core aged employment rate slipped 0.1 percentage points to 81.9%.
Older workers (aged 55+) reported contractions in both labour force (-1,100 or -0.9%) and employment (-1,600 or -1.4%). Since the percentage decline in employment was faster than in labour force, the older worker unemployment rate rose to 7.5%. The older worker participation rate fell to 34.5% and the employment rate for older workers declined to 32.0%.
Males and Females (Ages 15+, May 2022 vs April 2022, seasonally adjusted)
The monthly employment decline was larger among males (-1,800 or -0.7%) than among females (-300 or -0.1%). The male labour force was up 900 (+0.3%) while female labour force grew by 700 (+0.3%).
The male unemployment rate rose by 1.1 percentage points to 7.5% as employment contracted while labour force grew. The female unemployment rate increased 0.4 percentage points to 5.9% in May 2022 as employment fell while labour force rose.
Male participation rates were unchanged at 64.6% in May 2022. Female participation rates were also unchanged at 58.4%. The employment rate for males was 59.8% while the female employment rate was 54.9%.
Overall, last month's decrease in employment was concentrated among youth and older workers as well as among males. The rise in labour force was concentrated among youth and core aged workers while older workers withdrew labour supply.
Age and sex cohorts (January-May 2022 vs January-May 2021, seasonally adjusted)
On average over the first five months of 2022, employment and labour force gains were reported in each age cohort, though growth among youth was more modest while employment growth for males outpaced female employment gains.
Class of Worker (May 2022 vs April 2022, seasonally adjusted)
The May 2022 employment increase was among public sector employees (+5,200 or +4.3%) while private sector employment (-4,500 or -1.5%), and self-employment (-2,700 or -4.3%) were both down.
Class of Worker (May 2022 vs May 2021, seasonally adjusted)
Compared with restriction-influenced employment declines reported in May 2021, there were substantial gains in employment for private sector workers (+24,100 or +8.9%), public sector workers (+9,100 or +7.8%) as well as for the self-employed (+1,900 or +3.3%).
Industry of Employment (May 2022 vs April 2022, seasonally adjusted)
The employment decrease from April to May was notably concentrated in wholesale and retail trade as well as in agriculture, transportation and manufacturing. There were notable gains in employment for professional and technical services.
Industry of Employment (May 2022 vs May 2021, seasonally adjusted)
Over the last 12 months, employment has risen across almost all industries with the notable exceptions of agriculture, forestry/fishing/mining, manfuacturing and transportation.
Hours worked (January-May 2022 vs January-May 2021, unadjusted)
Changes in unadjusted hours worked show different variations than changes in seasonally adjusted employment (comparing the average over the first five months of 2022 with the same period in 2021). Overall employment was up 3.6% from January-May 2021 to January-May 2022, while hours worked increased just 0.8%.
Average weekly earnings (unadjusted, both full time and part time, January-May 2022 vs January-May 2021)
Average weekly earnings increased by 2.3% from January-May 2021 to January-May 2022. Earnings were up by across most industries, with the exceptions of wholesale/retail trade, education, information/culture/recreation and public administration. The fastest gains in average weekly earnings were in forestry/fishing/mining as well as in business support (which includes call centres).
Average weekly earnings across all employees were $1,007.29 in May 2022. The highest average weekly earnings (both full and part time employees) were reported in forestry/fishing/mining, utilities, professional/technical services and public administration. The lowest average weekly earnings were in accommodation/food, wholesale/retail and agriculture.
Regions (May 2022 vs May 2021, unadjusted 3 month moving average)
Compared with May 2021, employment and labour force each increased in Halifax, Cape Breton and Annapolis Valley while each decreased in the North Shore and Southern Nova Scotia regions. The unemployment rate declined in all regions except the North Shore.
Participation rates were up in Cape Breton and the Annapolis Valley but down in all other regions of Nova Scotia.
Regions (January-May 2022 vs January-May 2021, unadjusted 3 month moving average)
Comparing the average over the first five months of 2022 with the same months of 2021, labour force was down for the North Shore, Southern Nova Scotia and Halifax economic regions. Labour force grew in Cape Breton and the Annapolis Valley. Employment was up for Cape Breton, the Annapolis Valley and Halifax while there were declines in the North Shore and Southern Nova Scotia regions.
Provincial Comparisons (May 2022 vs April 2022, seasonally adjusted)
Canada's employment increased by 39,800 (+0.2%) from April to May, following on three months of gains as many restrictions to contain the Omicron variant of COVID-19 have been removed. The largest percentage employment gains were in Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island and Alberta. Employment declined in three provinces, led by New Brunswick.
The labour force up slightly for Canada (+0.1%). The largest increases in labour force were reported in Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador, while the largest declines were in New Brunswick and British Columbia.
Provincial Comparisons (May 2022 vs May 2021, seasonally adjusted)
Compared with May 2021, Nova Scotia's employment was up 7.9% while labour force expanded by 4.6%. National employment was up 5.7% while labour force increased by 2.5%. Only Manitoba reported a very slight decline in the labour force over this period, though it reported rising employment. All other provinces reported both rising labour force as well as employment. The fastest gains in both labour force and employment were reported in Prince Edward Island.
The national unemployment rate was 5.1% in May 2022, down from 5.2% in April 2022 and 8.0% in May 2021. This was the lowest unemployment rate for Canada in the monthly Labour Force Survey results that started in 1976. Newfoundland and Labrador reported the highest unemployment rate while the lowest unemployment rates were reported in Quebec.
The national participation rate was 65.3% in May 2022. The highest participation rates were in Prince Edward Island and Alberta while the lowest were in Newfoundland and Labrador.
The national employment rate was 61.9% in May 2022. Alberta reported the highest employment rate while Newfoundland and Labrador reported the lowest.
Census Metropolitan Areas (May 2022, seasonally adjusted 3 month moving average)
The Halifax unemployment rate was 4.7% in the May 2022 three month moving average. This was similar to other Census Metropolitan Areas, but lower than in the rest of Nova Scotia (8.2%). In central and western provinces, unemployment rates in Census Metropolitan Areas are similar to or higher than unemployment rates outside CMAs. In the Atlantic Provinces unemployment rates are higher outside CMAs.
Halifax's participation rate was 67.0% in the May 2022 three month moving average while participation rates were 56.2% across the rest of the province.
Halifax reported an employment rate of 63.9% in the May 2022 three month moving average while the employment rate was 51.6% outside the city.
Sources: Statistics Canada. Table 14-10-0036-01 Actual hours worked by industry, monthly, unadjusted for seasonality; Table 14-10-0063-01 Employee wages by industry, monthly, unadjusted for seasonality; Table 14-10-0287-01 Labour force characteristics, monthly, seasonally adjusted and trend-cycle, last 5 months; Table 14-10-0380-01 Labour force characteristics, three-month moving average, seasonally adjusted; Table 14-10-0387-01 Labour force characteristics, three-month moving average, unadjusted for seasonality, last 5 months; Table 14-10-0355-01 Employment by industry, monthly, seasonally adjusted and unadjusted, and trend-cycle, last 5 months (x 1,000); Table 14-10-0288-01 Employment by class of worker, monthly, seasonally adjusted and unadjusted, last 5 months (x 1,000); Table: 14-10-0380-02 Labour force characteristics, three month moving average, seasonally adjusted (x 1,000)
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