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January 10, 2025LABOUR MARKET TRENDS, DECEMBER 2024 **NOTE - Statistics Canada has revised the labour force survey results. The charts and analysis in this article have been updated.**
December labour force survey results reflect the period from December 8 to 14, 2024.
Ages 15+ (December 2024 vs November 2024, seasonally adjusted)
Nova Scotia's seasonally adjusted employment rose by 6,000 (+1.2%) to 527,700 in December.
The change in employment was due to a large increase in full-time employment (+14,200 or +3.3%) that more than offset the fall in part-time employment (-8,300 or -8.6%). Note that changes in full-time and part-time employment can also reflect changing hours for the same job.
Nova Scotia’s labour force rose by 6,500 (+1.2%) to 563,100 in December 2024.
With labour force and employment growing at about the same rate, Nova Scotia's unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.3% in December 2024.
Nova Scotia's labour force participation rate rose 0.7 percentage point to 61.9% and the employment rate rose 0.6 percentage points to 58.0% in December 2024.
Ages 15+ (December 2024 vs December 2023, seasonally adjusted)
Compared with December 2023, Nova Scotia's population over the age of 15 increased by 21,000 (+2.4%), while the labour force grew by 13,700 (+2.5%), and employment increased by 11,100 (+2.1%). The unemployment rate rose by 0.3 percentage points while the participation rate was up 0.1 percentage points and the employment rate edged down 0.1 percentage point.
Age Cohorts (December 2024 vs November 2024, seasonally adjusted)
Among youth (ages 15-24), employment was up 4,800 (+7.4%) and the labour force was up 4,400 (+6.0%). As employment rose faster than the labour force, the youth unemployment rate declined 0.4 percentage points to 9.9% in December. The youth participation rate rose 3.9 percentage points to 66.5% while the youth employment rate was up 4.2 percentage points to 59.0%.
The population aged 25-54 makes up the largest part of the labour force. In the core age group, employment was up 1,300 (+0.4%) while the labour force edged down by 100 (-0.03%). With employment rising and labour force little changed, the core aged unemployment rate fell 0.4 percentage point to 5.2% in December 2024. The core aged participation rate edged down 0.1 percentage point to 87.7% and the core aged employment rate was up 0.3 percentage points to 83.2%.
Older workers (aged 55+) reported the labour force increased by 2,200 (+1.8%) while employment declined by 100 (-0.1%). With a slight decline in employment for a larger labour force, the older worker unemployment rate rose 1.7 percentage points to 7.2%. The older worker participation rate rose 0.6 percentage points to 33.2% and the employment rate for older workers was down 0.1 percentage points at 30.7%.
Males and Females (Ages 15+, December 2024 vs November 2024, seasonally adjusted)
Monthly employment rose by 4,200 (+1.6%) for males while the labour force rose by 4,100 (+1.4%) from November. With employment increasing at a slightly faster rate than labour force, the male unemployment rate edged down 0.1 percentage points to 7.4% in December. The male participation rate rose by 0.9 percentage points to 65.3% while the employment rate rose by 1 percentage point to 60.5%.
Females reported an employment increase of 1,900 (+0.7%) and a labour force increase of 2,200 (+0.8%). With labour force rising slightly faster than employment, the female unemployment rate edged up 0.7 percentage points to 5.0% in December. The female participation rate rose by 0.4 percentage points to 58.6% and the female employment rate rose by 0.4 percentage points to 55.7%.
December's rise in employment was primarily due to higher employment among youth and male workers. The same is true for the rise in labour force in December, with a smaller contribution from the age 55+ cohort. There were notable declines in males and younger workers not in the labour force in December.
Age and sex cohorts (December 2024 vs December 2023, seasonally adjusted)
Compared with December 2023, population, labour force and employment growth was strongest among core-aged workers. There were more modest gains in population, labour force and employment for youth. Female employment increased more than for males when compared to December 2023, despite smaller increases in population and labour force for females.
Class of Worker and Industry (December 2024 vs November 2024, seasonally adjusted)
The December 2024 employment change was due to increases among private sector (+5,800, +1.8%) and self-employed (+1,200, +2.3%) workers. Public sector employment declined by 1,000 (-0.7%) in December.
Classified by industry, the largest employment gains from November to December were in personal/repair services, business support services (including call centres), information/culture/recreation services, and transportation/warehousing. The fastest decline was in professional/technical services, followed by public administration.
Class of Worker and Industry (December 2024 vs December 2023, seasonally adjusted)
Compared to December 2023, there were employment gains for public sector (+12,300 or +9.5%) while there were declines in private sector work (-100 or -0.03%) and self-employment (-1,100 or -2.0%).
Over the last 12 months, employment was up the most for health/social assistance, construction, accommodation/food services, education and public administration. The largest declines were in wholesale/retail and personal/repair services.
Hours worked and employment (December 2024, unadjusted)
Compared to the provincial average, a larger share of workers in goods producing industries, as well as transportation/warehousing and wholesale/retail, worked more than 40 hours per week in December 2024.
Note that some data on those working few hours in professional/technical services, business support (including call centres), utilities, forestry/fishing/mining and agriculture were suppressed.
Average weekly earnings (unadjusted, both full time and part time, December 2024 vs December 2023)
Average weekly earnings increased by 6.4% from December 2023 to December 2024. There were notable gains in average weekly earnings were in agriculture and forestry/fishing/mining. The next fastest increases were for health/social assistance, wholesale/retail and accommodation/food services. The largest declines in average weekly wages were in finance/insurance/real estate, utilities and manufacturing.
The increase in Nova Scotia's all items consumer price index was 0.9% from December 2023 to December 2024.
Average weekly earnings across all employees were $1,162.40 in December 2024. 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 services, business support/call centres and wholesale/retail trade.
Regions (December 2024 vs December 2023, unadjusted 3 month moving average)
Compared with December 2023, Cape Breton reported the largest employment gain, followed by Halifax. Cape Breton reported faster growth in employment than labour force, resulting in lower unemployment compared to one year ago. Halifax reported stronger growth in labour force and notable population growth (along with a substantial rise in persons not in the labour force). The North Shore reported labour force growth that outpaced employment growth, resulting in higher unemployment. Annapolis Valley and Southern Nova Scotia reported lower labour force and employment compared to one year ago, largely resulting in more persons not in the labour force.
Unemployment rates were up in North Shore, Annapolis Valley and Halifax while they declined in Cape Breton and Southern regions compared to one year ago.
Participation and employment rates rose in Cape Breton and North Shore, and declined in Annapolis Valley, Southern Nova Scotia and Halifax.
Provincial Comparisons (seasonally adjusted)
Canada's labour force rose 0.2% from November with eight provinces reporting growth in December 2024, led by Nova Scotia. The only declines were in Manitoba and Québec.
Compared with December 2023, the national labour force was up 3.1%. Alberta reported the fastest increase while slowest growth rates were in Newfoundland and Labrador and British Columbia.
Canada's employment was up 0.4% from November to December. Eight provinces reported higher employment in December, led by Nova Scotia and Alberta. Compared with December 2023, the national employment gain was 2.0% with the fastest growth in Alberta and the slowest growth in British Columbia.
The national unemployment rate was 6.7% in December 2024, up from 5.8% in December 2023. Québec had the lowest unemployment rate while Newfoundland and Labrador reported the highest unemployment rate in December 2024. All provinces reported higher unemployment rates in December 2024 than in December 2023, with Manitoba reporting the largest rise. Newfoundland and Labrador reported the smallest year-over-year increase in the unemployment rate.
The national participation rate was 65.4% in December 2024. The highest participation rate was in Alberta while the lowest was in Newfoundland and Labrador. Compared with December 2023, participations rates were up slightly in the Maritime provinces and Manitoba (though none reported large increases). Participation rates were down in Newfoundland and Labrador, Québec and the three western provinces. Ontario's participation rate was unchanged from December 2023.
The national employment rate was 61.0% in December 2024. Alberta reported the highest employment rate while Newfoundland and Labrador reported the lowest. ALl provinces reported lower employment rates in December 2024 than in December 2023 (Nova Scotia reported the smallest decline).
Census Metropolitan Areas (December 2024, seasonally adjusted 3 month moving average)
Note: Statistics Canada has revised the list of Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) to align with those reported by the 2021 Census. This includes some new CMAs: Fredericton, Drummondville, Red Deer, Kamloops, Chilliwack and Nanaimo. There were notable revisions to boundaries for the Halifax CMA, which now includes the East Hants Municipal District. The CMA for Windsor was expanded to include Leamington while Ottawa/Gatineau's CMA was expanded to incorporate Arnprior and Carleton Place.
The Halifax and East Hants CMA's unemployment rate was 5.1% in the seasonally adjusted December 2024 three month moving average. Outside of Halifax and East Hants CMA the unemployment rate was 7.7%. 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 typically higher outside CMAs.
The Halifax and East Hants CMA's participation rate was 67.8% in the seasonally adjusted December 2024 three month moving average, while participation rates were 55.1% across the rest of the province.
Halifax and East Hants reported an employment rate of 64.3% in the seasonally adjusted December 2024 three month moving average, while the employment rate was 50.9% outside the CMA.
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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