Labour Force Survey Monthly
Labour Force Survey, December 2018
released January 4, 2019
Prince Edward Island Employment
| Month | Can | NL | PE | NS | NB | QC | ON | MB | SK | AB | BC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 2018 | 5.6 | 11.7 | 9.6 | 7.1 | 8.4 | 5.5 | 5.4 | 6.0 | 5.6 | 6.4 | 4.4 |
| November 2018 | 5.6 | 12.2 | 8.5 | 7.0 | 7.9 | 5.4 | 5.6 | 5.7 | 5.5 | 6.3 | 4.4 |
| December 2017 | 5.8 | 14.7 | 9.7 | 8.0 | 7.8 | 5.0 | 5.6 | 5.6 | 6.5 | 7.0 | 4.6 |
| Year-over-Year change (pp) | -0.2 | -3.0 | -0.1 | -0.9 | 0.6 | 0.5 | -0.2 | 0.4 | -0.9 | -0.6 | -0.2 |
| Monthly change (pp) | 0.0 | -0.5 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.1 | -0.2 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
Summary
Today’s Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey shows that P.E.I.’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 9.6 per cent in December 2018. This is up 1.1 percentage points from last month and down 0.1 percentage points from December 2017. Seasonally adjusted employment in December totaled 75,500, an increase of 700 from one year ago and down by 1,200 from November 2018. Full-time employment was up by 1,000 compared to December 2017, while part-time employment decreased by 200. The number of unemployed persons on Prince Edward Island increased to 8,000, up by 900 from one month ago and no change from December 2017. The labour force participation rate stood at 66.0 in December, down 0.5 percentage points from December 2017. The total labour force increased by 900 from December 2017 to total 83,600.
The three-month moving average unemployment rate used by the Employment Insurance program for the Charlottetown region increased to 6.1 per cent in December, up from 5.9 per cent in November. This results in a decrease in the hours needed to qualify for EI in this region, from 700 to 655 hours and increases the minimum draw period from 14 to 15 weeks. The rate in the PEI region in December was 11.3 per cent, up from 11.0 per cent in November. This results in a decrease in the hours needed to qualify for EI in this region, from 525 to 490 hours and increases the minimum draw period from 21 to 23 weeks.
Nationally, employment held steady in December and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.6 per cent. Notable employment increases occurred in Newfoundland and Labrador, while Alberta, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island showed a notable declines.
Employment gains (+)/ losses (-) between December 2017 and December 2018 occurred in the following sectors on Prince Edward Island:
|
Goods-producing sector: |
+400 |
Service-providing sector: |
+400 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Agriculture: |
+300 |
Trade (Retail/Wholesale): |
-100 |
|
Other Primary Industries: |
+100 |
Transport & Warehousing: |
+600 |
|
Manufacturing: |
+100 |
Finance, Insurance, Real Estate: |
-100 |
|
Construction: |
-200 |
Business Services: |
+400 |
|
Utilities: |
x |
Professional, Scientific and Technical: |
-200 |
|
|
|
Educational Services: |
-500 |
|
|
|
Health & Social Services: |
-400 |
|
|
|
Public Administration: |
+500 |
|
|
|
Information, Culture and Recreation: |
-300 |
|
|
|
Accommodation & Food services: |
+500 |
| Other Services: | -100 |
(Components may not sum to total due to rounding)
x: Suppressed to meet the confidentiality requirements of the Statistics Act.
PEI Unemployment Rate
(Seasonally Adjusted)
Notes:
- The LFS estimates for December are for the week of December 2 to 8, 2018.
- The LFS estimates are based on a sample and are therefore subject to sampling variability. For more information, see the Statistics Canada publication "Interpreting Monthly Changes in Employment from the Labour Force Survey."
- The next release of the LFS will be on February 8, 2019.
Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey Estimates, released January 4, 2019.
Related downloads for this release:
Monthly Labour Force Survey report - PDF (100KB)
General Inquiries
Department of Finance
2nd Floor South, Shaw Building
95 Rochford Street
P.O. Box 2000
Charlottetown, PE, C1A 7N8
Phone: (902) 368-4040
Fax: (902) 368-6575