Labour Force Survey Monthly
Labour Force Survey, December 2019
released January 10, 2020
Prince Edward Island Employment
| Month | Can | NL | PE | NS | NB | QC | ON | MB | SK | AB | BC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 2019 | 5.6 | 11.8 | 7.9 | 7.9 | 7.5 | 5.3 | 5.3 | 5.0 | 5.7 | 7.0 | 4.8 |
| November 2019 | 5.9 | 11.2 | 8.0 | 7.8 | 8.0 | 5.6 | 5.6 | 5.6 | 5.8 | 7.2 | 5.0 |
| December 2018 | 5.6 | 11.7 | 9.6 | 7.0 | 8.4 | 5.5 | 5.4 | 6.0 | 5.6 | 6.4 | 4.4 |
| Year-over-Year change (pp) | 0.0 | 0.1 | -1.7 | 0.9 | -0.9 | -0.2 | -0.1 | -1.0 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 0.4 |
| Monthly change (pp) | -0.3 | 0.6 | -0.1 | 0.1 | -0.5 | -0.3 | -0.3 | -0.6 | -0.1 | -0.2 | -0.2 |
Summary
Today’s Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey shows that P.E.I.’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 7.9 per cent in December 2019, remaining below 9.0 per cent for the sixth consecutive month. This is down 0.1 percentage points from last month and down 1.7 percentage points from December 2018. Seasonally adjusted employment in December totaled 80,100, a new all-time high and an increase of 4,600 from one year ago and up by 1,100 from November 2019. The annual increase was a result of an increase of 3,900 in full-time employment while part-time employment increased by 700. Full-time employment reached 68,200 in December which is an all-time high. The number of unemployed persons on Prince Edward Island remained at 6,900 in December, down by 1,100 from December 2018. The labour force participation rate stood at 66.8 in December, up 0.9 percentage points from December 2018. The total labour force increased by 3,400 from December 2018 to total 86,900, also a new all-time high.
The three-month moving average unemployment rate used by the Employment Insurance program for the Charlottetown region decreased to 5.5 per cent in December, down from 6.0 per cent in November. This is the lowest the rate has been for this region since the division into two EI zones in September 2014. The rate in the PEI region in December was 10.6 per cent, down from 10.7 per cent in November. There is no change in EI eligibility criteria in either region.
Nationally, employment increased by 35,000 in December and the unemployment rate fell 0.3 percentage points to 5.6 per cent. Notable employment increases occurred in Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, and Prince Edward Island, while Newfoundland and Labrador showed a notable decline.
Employment gains (+)/ losses (-) between December 2018 and December 2019 occurred in the following sectors on Prince Edward Island [1] :
|
Goods-producing sector: |
+200 |
Service-providing sector: |
+4,300 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Agriculture: |
+500 |
Trade (Retail/Wholesale): |
+600 |
|
Other Primary Industries: |
-1,100 |
Transport & Warehousing: |
-600 |
|
Manufacturing: |
-500 |
Finance, Insurance, Real Estate: |
+700 |
|
Construction: |
+1,300 |
Business Services: |
+100 |
|
Utilities: |
0 |
Professional, Scientific and Technical: |
+900 |
|
|
|
Educational Services: |
+400 |
|
|
|
Health & Social Services: |
+900 |
|
|
|
Public Administration: |
+700 |
|
|
|
Information, Culture and Recreation: |
0 |
|
|
|
Accommodation & Food services: |
+700 |
| Other Services: | 0 |
[1] Components may not sum to total due to rounding
PEI Unemployment Rate
(Seasonally Adjusted)
Notes:
- The LFS estimates for December are for the week of December 8 to 14, 2019.
- 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 7, 2020.
Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey Estimates, released January 10, 2020.
Related downloads for this release:
Monthly Labour Force Survey report - PDF (100KB)