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September 10, 2021LABOUR MARKET TRENDS - AUGUST 2021 Labour force survey results reflect the period from August 15 to 21. Most jurisdictions had implemented final or near-final stages of public health reopening. Indoor locations for restaurants, recreation, personal care, retail and entertainment were mostly permitted to be open, although capacity restrictions remained to varying degrees. As of August 9, 2021, fully vaccinated non-essential travellers form the US were allowed to enter Canada without quarantine. Nova Scotia reopening plan moved to Phase 4 on July 14 (in the middle of previous reference week), so August results reflect further progress with reopening.
Nova Scotia’s seasonally adjusted employment level increased 3,900 (+0.8%) to 465,100 in August 2021 following on an increase of 13,800 in June and 3,700 in July as phased re-opening continued after the third-wave lockdown period in the spring. Employment is 1,700 (-0.4%) lower than in March 2021.
Nova Scotia’s employment was 0.4% below the pre-COVID level of February 2020 with 1,900 fewer people employed.
Nova Scotia’s labour force increased 1,300 (+0.3%) to 54,600 in August. The labour force in August was lower by 3,000 (-0.6%) than the February 2020 level with population growth of 10,500 (+1.3%) over the same period. The number of unemployed persons decreased 2,600 compared to last month and was 1,100 lower compared to February 2020.
With a smaller increase in labour force than employment, the unemployment rate decreased 0.6 percentage points from last month to 7.8% in August 2021.
In August, full-time employment was down 1,500 (-0.4%) to 371,200 position and part-time employment increased 5,300 (+6.0%). Compared to February 2020, full-time employment was lower by 4,900 (-1.3%) while part time employment was higher by 2,900 (3.2%).
The participation rate was up 0.1 percentage points at 61.4% in August 2021. This was 1.1 percentage points below the February 2020 level. The number of persons not in the labour force increased 500 (+0.2%) to 317,700 in August 2021, still elevated from levels seen in March 2021 prior to the third-wave.
In addition to the employment decline from February 2020, there were elevated numbers of persons who are counted as employed, but have zero hours (for non-routine reasons like vacation, maternity/parental leave, labour dispute) or had their hours cut by 50% or more.
In August 2021 in Nova Scotia there were 27,300 persons employed but at less than 50% of their usual hours (including zero hours), up from 27,000 in July but lower than 45,900 in May 2021. Pre-pandemic in February 2020 there were an estimated 19,800 persons with reduced hours. Compared to just before third-wave lockdown (March 2021), there were still an elevated number of people employed at fewer than usual hours at 27,700 persons.
Employment losses and substantially reduced hours combine to account for 2.7% of Nova Scotia’s February 2020 employment level. A decrease from 10.6% in May 2021 and 4.6% in June 2021; this measure reached a peak of 28.1% in April 2020. The largest total employment/hour impact in August 2021 was Prince Edward Island (4.5%) and the smallest impacts were in British Columbia (0.0%) with no net change.
Statistics Canada reported in supplemental information that Nova Scotia had an increase of 800 (Jul-21 to Aug-21) of people who were not in the labour force but wanted to work, currently at 18,100 people. The number of people not in labour force and wanting work is 4,800 more than February 2020.
The labour underutilization rate (COVID-19 impact definition) is the proportion of the potential labour force (labour force + those wanting work) that is either unemployed, not in labour force but wanted work or employed but have lost the majority of their usual hours.
In February 2020, Nova Scotia's labour underutilization rate was 14.1%. This underutilization increased to 37.1% in April 2020 and subsequently fell 15.5% in April 2021, before rising to 22.8% in May 2021 and declining 16.2% in August 2021.
Newfoundland and Labrador reported the highest labour underutilization in August 2021 at 20.5% while Quebec (12.3%) reported the lowest.
Age Cohorts
When compared to February 2020, youth (aged 15-24) and core aged workers (aged 25-54) saw lower employment levels in August 2021. Employment among core-aged workers (aged 25-54) declined 6,400 while labour force declined by 8,600 from February 2020 to August 2021. In the youth cohort (ages 15-24), employment declined 3,800 and labour force was down 5,800. For older workers (aged 55+), employment was up 8,300 while labour force was up 11,400.
The unemployment rate decreased for all age groups in Nova Scotia in August 2021. Compared to the previous month, the unemployment rate declined 2.1 percentage points to 11.9% for youth workers, 0.1 percentage points for core-aged workers to 6.5% and 0.6 percentage points to 8.7% for older workers.
The participation rate for younger Nova Scotians rose by 0.3 percentage points to 68.6% in August. For core-aged workers, the participation rate declined by 1.0 percentage point to 85.2% and for older workers, the participation rate increased by 0.9 percentage points to 35.7%.
The employment rate was up for youth (+1.7 percentage points) and older workers (+1.1 percentage points). The employment rate for core-aged workers declined compared to the previous month (-0.8 percentage points).
Compared to August 2020, employment rate for youth workers increased by 10.0 percentage points to 60.4% in August 2021. The employment rate was down by 0.2 percentage points to 79.7% for core-aged workers. For older workers, the employment rate was up 4.1 percentage points to 32.6% from one year ago.
Compared with February 2020, employment rates were down for youth (-2.7 percentage points), core-aged workers (-2.2 percentage points) while employment rates were up for older workers (+1.4 percentage points).
Males and Females
Compared to pre-pandemic levels seen in February 2020, female employment was down 1,700 and male employment was down 200 in August 2021. Over the same period, female labour force declined 1,700 while male labour force was down 1,400. The number of unemployed females increased 100 while the number of males was down 1,200. The number of females not in the labour force was up 7,300 from February 2020 while the male population not in the labour force was up 6,400.
The decline in female employment was concentrated in full-time jobs (-9,300) while part-time employment among females was higher (+7,600) than in February 2020. Male full-time employment was up 4,400 from pre-pandemic while males with part-time employment was 4,600 lower.
The August 2021 the participation rate rose slightly (+0.2 percentage points) for female workers to 58.5% while it declined (-0.2 percentage points) for male workers to 64.4%.
The monthly employment rate was up 0.3 percentage points to 54.4% for females and was up 0.5 percentage points to 58.9% for males.
In August 2021, the monthly unemployment rate edged down 0.1 percentage points to 7.1% for female workers and declined 1.0 percentage points to 8.5% for male workers.
Sectors and Industries
The monthly employment increase in August was concentrated in public sector employees (+2,400) and self-employed (+1,700) while private sector employees (-300) declined.
For August, goods-producing sector employment was down 1,600 jobs with declines in all subsectors except utilities (+900)
Service-producing sector employment increased 5,400 in August. The largest employment gains for August occurred in other services (+1,100), trade (+1,800), educational services (+2,900), and professional services (+3,300). Employment declined in accommodation and food services (-1,900) and health care and social assistance (-1,400).
For August 2021 compared to February 2020, employment was lower in the private sector (-15,500) while self-employment (+2,000) and public sector employment (+11,500) have increased.
Employment since February 2020 has declined 1,100 in goods-production industries with lower employment in manufacturing (-4,200) offsetting small increases in the other goods-producing industries.
Service-producing employment was lower by 900 compared to February 2020 with significantly lower levels in wholesale/retail trade (-6,500), information, culture and recreation (-4,800), and accommodation and food services (-10,900).
Employment levels were notably higher in August 2021 than February 2020 in transportation/warehousing (+3,800), professional, scientific and technical services (+9,500), health care and social assistance (+3,500), and educational services (+2,900).
Regions – August 2021 vs August 2020 (unadjusted 3 month moving average)
Regional results for August are three month moving averages from the period June-August. Changes do not reflect the full extent of employment volatility observed in monthly results for the province as a whole.
Compared with August 2020, Cape Breton employment increased by 1,600 (+3.2%) while labour force was down 1,000 (-1.7%). The number of unemployed people decreased 2,500 and the unemployment rate decreased by 4.0 percentage points to 11.8% in August 2021. The number of persons not in the labour force was up 200 compared to the same period one year ago.
For the North Shore region, the labour force increased 8,700 and employment was up 10,800. The number of unemployed people was down 2,200 which resulted in a 4.2 percentage point decline in the unemployment rate to 7.5%. The number of persons not in the labour force declined by 8,800 compared to August 2020.
The Annapolis Valley reported an increase both in labour force (+4,100) and employment (+4,300) when compared to August 2020. The unemployment rate declined 1.0 percentage point to 9.2%. The number of persons not in the labour force declined 3,500 from a year earlier.
In the Southern region, labour force increased 500 while employment grew by 2,600 people when compared to August 2020. The number of unemployed was down 2,100 and the unemployment rate declined 3.9 percentage points to 7.5% in August 2021. The number of persons not in the labour force declined 600 from a year earlier.
In the Halifax region, the labour force posted an increase of 2,400 (+0.9%) while employment has increased 9,700 (+4.2%) compared to August 2020. The number of unemployed was down 7,200 and the unemployment rate fell to 7.4%. The number of persons not in the labour force increased by 4,600 in Halifax from a year ago.
Provincial Comparisons
Employment increased month-over-month in seven provinces in August with Saskatchewan reporting the largest increase (+1.8%) and Quebec (-0.3%) reporting the largest decline.
Nationally, employment was up 0.5% from last month in August 2021.
Compared to February 2020, the labour force was lower in eight provinces including Nova Scotia. British Columbia (+2.2%) has seen the largest growth in labour force from pre-pandemic levels. Ontario’s labour force has also increased. The largest decline in the labour force since February 2020 to August 2021 was in Newfoundland and Labrador (-1.5%).
Employment was lower compared to pre-pandemic levels in all provinces except British Columbia (+1.1%). The largest employment declines since February 2020 were in Prince Edward Island (-3.4%) and New Brunswick (-2.7%).
The highest unemployment rate for August 2021 was in Newfoundland and Labrador at 12.1% and the lowest rate was 5.7% in Manitoba. Canada’s unemployment rate was 7.1% in August. Unemployment rates were higher in eight provinces compared to February 2020 and lower in Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia.
National Comparisons: Cities (Monthly, 3 month moving average)
The unemployment rate for Halifax Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) in August 2021 was 7.5% (seasonally adjusted 3 month moving average). Victoria at 4.2% had the lowest unemployment rate among CMAs while the highest was in Windsor (10.6%).
The seasonally adjusted employment rate for Halifax was 62.1%, up 1.0 percentage points compared to last month. Guelph (66.4%) had the highest employment rate while Belleville (50.8%) had the lowest among CMAs.
Halifax’s employment (3 month moving average) for August 2021 was up 1.9% compared to the July 2021 result. The employment level (Jun-Aug) average compared to previous average (May-Jul) was up by the largest amount in Belleville (+4.9%) and decreased the most in Peterborough (-2.6%).
Note: Seasonally adjusted, 3 month average.
Sources:
Statistics Canada. Table 14-10-0287-01 Labour force characteristics, monthly, seasonally adjusted and trend-cycle, last 5 months
Statistics Canada. Table 14-10-0294-01 Labour force characteristics by census metropolitan area, three-month moving average, seasonally adjusted and unadjusted, last 5 months
Statistics Canada. Table 14-10-0293-01 Labour force characteristics by economic region, three-month moving average, unadjusted for seasonality, last 5 months
Statistics Canada. Table 14-10-0355-01 Employment by industry, monthly, seasonally adjusted and unadjusted, and trend-cycle, last 5 months (x 1,000)
Statistics Canada. Table 14-10-0288-01 Employment by class of worker, monthly, seasonally adjusted and unadjusted, last 5 months (x 1,000)
Statistics Canada. Table: 14-10-0380-02 Labour force characteristics, three month moving average, seasonally adjusted (x 1,000)
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