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December 06, 2024LABOUR MARKET TRENDS, NOVEMBER 2024 November labour force survey results reflect the period from November 10 to 16, 2024.
Ages 15+ (November 2024 vs October 2024, seasonally adjusted)
Nova Scotia's seasonally adjusted employment rose by 600 (+0.1%) to 514,600 in November following a decline of 2,100 (-0.4%) in the previous month.
The change in employment was attributable to a increase in part-time employment (+4,900) that offset the fall in full-time employment (-4,300). 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 100 (+0.02%) to 548,300 in November 2024.
With employment rising faster than labour force, Nova Scotia's unemployment rate edged down 0.1 percentage point to 6.1% in November 2024.
Nova Scotia's labour force participation rate edged down 0.1 percentage point to 61.0% and the employment rate was unchanged at 57.3% in November 2024.
Ages 15+ (November 2024 vs November 2023, seasonally adjusted)
Compared with November 2023, Nova Scotia's population over the age of 15 increased by 25,000 (+2.9%), while the labour force grew by 9,100 (+1.7%), and employment increased by 11,200 (+2.2%). The unemployment rate declined by 0.5 percentage points while the participation rate fell by 0.7 percentage points and the employment rate fell by 0.3 percentage points.
Ages 15+ (January-November 2024 vs January-November 2023, seasonally adjusted)
Compared with January-November 2023, Nova Scotia's population over the age of 15 increased by 26,500 (+3.1%), while the labour force grew by 18,200 (+3.4%), and employment increased by 16,900 (+3.4%). The unemployment rate was unchanged compared to the same period in 2023. Both the participation rate and employment rate were up 0.2 percentage points.
Note: Year-to-date estimates are calculated as averages of monthly data and rounded to the nearest tenth. Year-to-date changes in the table are also rounded to the nearest tenth.
Age Cohorts (November 2024 vs October 2024, seasonally adjusted)
Among youth (ages 15-24), employment was down 900 (-1.3%) while the labour force fell by 1,400 (-1.8%). As employment fell slower than the labour force, the youth unemployment rate declined 0.6 percentage points to 10.7% in November. The youth participation rate fell 1.2 percentage points to 61.7% while the youth employment rate was down 0.8 percentage points to 55.1%.
The population aged 25-54 makes up the largest part of the labour force. In the core age group, employment was down 300 (-0.1%) while the labour force rose by 200 (+0.1%). With employment falling and labour force rising at a similar pace, the core aged unemployment rate was virtually unchanged at 5.4% in November 2024. The core aged participation rate edged down 0.1 percentage point to 87.6% and the core aged employment rate was down 0.2 percentage points to 82.8%.
Older workers (aged 55+) reported the labour force increased by 1,400 (+1.1%) while employment increased by 1,700 (+1.5%). With employment rising faster than labour force, the older worker unemployment rate declined 0.3 percentage points to 5.2%. The older worker participation rate rose 0.4 percentage points to 32.9% and the employment rate for older workers rose 0.4 percentage points to 31.2%.
Males and Females (Ages 15+, November 2024 vs October 2024, seasonally adjusted)
Monthly employment declined by 4,000 (-1.5%) for males while the labour force declined by 3,800 (-1.3%) from October. With employment falling faster than labour force, the male unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage points to 7.5% in November. The male participation and employment rates each declined by 1.0 percentage point to 63.7% and 59.0%, respectively.
Females reported an employment increase of 4,700 (+1.9%) and a labour force increase of 3,900 (+1.5%). With employment rising faster than labour force, the female unemployment rate fell to 4.7% in November. The female participation rate rose by 0.8 percentage points to 58.5% and the female employment rate rose by 1.0 percentage point to 55.7%.
November's rise in employment was primarily due to higher employment among females and older workers. The same is true for the rise in labour force in November, with a smaller contribution from the age 25-54 cohort. There were notable increases in males and younger workers not in the labour force in November.
Age and sex cohorts (November 2024 vs November 2023, seasonally adjusted)
Compared with November 2023, employment growth was strongest among core-aged workers (whose population has also grown the most over this period). Youth and older workers has similar employment gains compared to one year ago. Female employment has increased more than for males when compared to November 2023, where males report more persons not in the labour force.
Age and sex cohorts (January-November 2024 vs January-November 2023, seasonally adjusted)
Compared with January-November 2023, labour force and employment growth was highest among core-aged workers (whose population is also growing more than others). Labour force growth outpaced employment growth for core-aged workers, and, to a lesser extent, youth workers. Older workers saw a larger increase in employment than labour force. Core-aged workers had a larger increase in unemployment compared to youth and older workers as labour force growth outpaced employment growth. Population, labour force, and employment have increased more for males than females compared to January-November 2023.
Class of Worker and Industry (November 2024 vs October 2024, seasonally adjusted)
The November 2024 employment change was due to increases among public sector (+500, +0.4%) and self-employed (+600, +1.2%) workers. Private sector employment declined by 500 (-0.2%) in November.
Classified by industry, the largest employment gains from October to November were in construction, accommodation/food services and professional/technical services. The fastest decline was in personal/repair services, followed by information/culture/recreation and forestry/fishing/mining.
Class of Worker and Industry (November 2024 vs November 2023, seasonally adjusted)
Compared to November 2023, there were employment gains for public sector workers (+19,000 or +15.6%), with declines for private sector workers (-3,400 or -1.0%) and self-employed (-4,400 or -7.9%).
Over the last 12 months, employment was up the most for education, construction, health/social assistance, public administration and accommodation/food services. The largest declines were in wholesale/retail and personal/repair services.
Class of Worker and Industry (January-November 2024 vs January-November 2023, seasonally adjusted)
Compared to January-November 2023, gains were strongest for public sector workers (+15,100 or +12.6%) followed by private sector workers (+7,700 or +2.4%). The number of self employed declined (-5,800 or -10.2%) in January-November 2024.
Gains in employment was strongest in education, public administration, accommodation/food services and health care/social assistance. The largest declines were in professional/technical services and agriculture for the first eleven months of 2024.
Hours worked and employment (November 2024, unadjusted)
Compared to the provincial average, a larger share of workers in goods producing industries (except utilities), as well as transportation/warehousing, worked more than 40 hours per week in November 2024.
Note that some data on those working few hours in business support (including call centres), utilities, forestry/fishing/mining and agriculture were suppressed.
Average weekly earnings (unadjusted, both full time and part time, November 2024 vs November 2023)
Average weekly earnings increased by 3.7% from November 2023 to November 2024. The fastest gains in average weekly earnings were in information/culture/recreation, business/support/call centres, wholesale/retail and forestry/fishing/mining. The largest declines in average weekly wages were in agriculture (where average weekly wages were unusually high from September to November 2023), followed by education.
The increase in Nova Scotia's all items consumer price index was 1.5% from October 2023 to October 2024.
Average weekly earnings across all employees were $1,141.63 in November 2024. The highest average weekly earnings (both full and part time employees) were reported in forestry/fishing/mining, professional/technical services, utilities and public administration. The lowest average weekly earnings were in accommodation/food services and wholesale/retail trade.
Average weekly earnings (unadjusted, both full time and part time, January-November 2024 vs January-November 2023)
Average weekly earnings increased 6.4% in the first eleven months of 2024 compared to the same period of 2023. The fastest gains in average weekly earnings were in professional/technical services, utilities, manufacturing, personal/repair services and health care/social assistance. Agriculture registered a notable decline in average weekly earnings in January-November 2024, with smaller declines in education and forestry/fishing/mining.
Average weekly earnings in the first eleven months of 2024 were highest in utilities, forestry/fishing/mining, professional/technical services, and public administration. The lowest average weekly earnings were in accommodation/food services, wholesale/retail trade, agriculture and business support services (including call centres) in January-November 2024.
Regions (November 2024 vs November 2023, unadjusted 3 month moving average)
Compared with November 2023, labour force and employment increases were concentrated in Halifax. Cape Breton reported faster growth in employment than labour force, resulting in lower unemployment compared to one year ago. The North Shore 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 and Annapolis Valley while they declined in Cape Breton and Halifax regions compared to one year ago. The unemployment rate in Southern Nova Scotia was unchanged compared to one year ago.
Participation rates rose in Cape Breton and North Shore, and declined in Annapolis Valley, Southern Nova Scotia and Halifax.
Employment rates rose in Cape Breton and declined in every other region compared to one year ago.
Regions (January-November 2024 vs January-November 2023, unadjusted 3 month moving average)
Compared with the first eleven months of 2023, all regions except Southern Nova Scotia reported higher labour force and higher employment. Labour force gains outpaced employment growth for Halifax and Annapolis Valley regions, resulting in higher unemployment and those not in the labour force. North Shore reported similar growth in employment and labour force with a rise in those not in the labour force. Cape Breton had a faster gain in employment than labour force for the first eleven months of 2024.
Provincial Comparisons (seasonally adjusted)
Canada's labour force rose 0.6% from October with seven provinces reporting growth in November 2024. Alberta reported the fastest growth while the largest declines were in New Brunswick and Saskatchewan. Newfoundland and Labrador reported no change.
Compared with November 2023, the national labour force was up 2.8%. Alberta and Prince Edward Island reported the fastest increase while slowest growth was in British Columbia.
Canada's employment was up 0.2% from October to November. Seven provinces reported higher employment in November, led by Prince Edward Island. Compared with November 2023, the national gain was 1.6% with the fastest growth in Prince Edward Island and the slowest growth in British Columbia.
The national unemployment rate was 6.8% in November 2024, up from 5.8% in November 2023. Saskatchewan had the lowest unemployment rate while Newfoundland and Labrador reported the highest unemployment rate in November 2024.
The national participation rate was 65.1% in November 2024. The highest participation rate was in Alberta while the lowest was in Newfoundland and Labrador.
The national employment rate was 60.6% in November 2024. Alberta reported the highest employment rate while Newfoundland and Labrador reported the lowest.
Census Metropolitan Areas (November 2024, seasonally adjusted 3 month moving average)
The Halifax unemployment rate was 5.1% in the seasonally adjusted November 2024 three month moving average. Outside of Halifax the unemployment rate was 7.5%. 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.
Halifax's participation rate was 67.6% in the seasonally adjusted November 2024 three month moving average, while participation rates were 55.2% across the rest of the province.
Halifax reported an employment rate of 64.2% in the seasonally adjusted November 2024 three month moving average, while the employment rate was 51.0% 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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