Labour Force Survey Monthly
Labour Force Survey, June 2021
released July 9, 2021
Statistics Canada continues to closely monitor the impacts of COVID-19 on the Canadian labour market. In June 2021, public health restrictions had been significantly eased in several jurisdictions by the end of the LFS reference week. Most indoor and outdoor dining, recreation and cultural activities, retail shopping, and personal care services had resumed or continued in eight provinces, with varying degrees of capacity restrictions. Employment increases were seen in accommodation and food services and retail trade, consistent with the lifting or easing of public health restrictions affecting these industries in late May and early June in many jurisdictions.
Workers are starting to return to their usual workplace. Among Canadians who worked at least half their usual hours in June, the number who worked from home fell by nearly 400,000 to 4.7 million. For 2.6 million of these people, working from home represented an adaptation to the COVID-19 pandemic, as this was not their usual work location. At the same time, the number of people working at locations other than home rose by approximately 700,000 to 12.3 million.
Ontario's stay-at-home order was lifted on June 2, and outdoor dining and some in-person non-essential shopping resumed on June 11. However, indoor dining and gyms, as well as personal care services, remained closed during the reference week. Remote schooling continued across the province.
Manitoba remained under tight public health restrictions, including the closure of restaurants and bars, personal care services, and recreation and cultural facilities. Remote schooling continued for large parts of the province.
The data in this release correspond to the reference period of June 13 to 19. For more information on survey enhancements, as well as the June 2021 results, please refer to the Statistics Canada June 2021 Labour Force Survey release.
Prince Edward Island Employment
Unemployment Rate By Province (seasonally adjusted, in percentage)
| Month | Can | NL | PE | NS | NB | QC | ON | MB | SK | AB | BC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2021 | 7.8 | 13.0 | 12.5 | 9.0 | 9.3 | 6.3 | 8.4 | 7.6 | 6.7 | 9.3 | 6.6 |
| May 2021 | 8.2 | 13.4 | 9.6 | 9.8 | 9.0 | 6.6 | 9.3 | 7.2 | 6.3 | 8.7 | 7.0 |
| June 2020 | 12.5 | 17.9 | 15.1 | 13.3 | 10.3 | 10.7 | 12.2 | 10.3 | 11.6 | 15.8 | 13.3 |
| Year-over-Year change (pp) | -4.7 | -4.9 | -2.6 | -4.3 | -1.0 | -4.4 | -3.8 | -2.7 | -4.9 | -6.5 | -6.7 |
| Monthly change (pp) | -0.4 | -0.4 | 2.9 | -0.8 | 0.3 | -0.3 | -0.9 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.6 | -0.4 |
Summary
Today’s Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey shows P.E.I.’s seasonally adjusted employment in June totaled 77,800. This is an increase of 3,400 from one year ago and down by 1,400 from May 2021. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 12.5 per cent in June 2021, up 2.9 percentage points from last month and down 2.6 percentage points from June 2020. The total labour force increased by 1,300 from last month to total 88,900, matching an all-time high set in February 2020, prior to the pandemic.
The year-over-year increase in employment was due to an increase of 1,000 in full-time employment and an increase of 2,400 in part-time employment. All of the increase was in the services sector, which saw an increase of 4,800 as compared to June 2020, while the goods-producing sector declined by 1,400 over the same period (see table below for year-over-year employment gains and losses by industry).
P.E.I.’s June employment was at 95.1 per cent of its pre-COVID February 2020 level. The number of unemployed persons on Prince Edward Island was 11,100, up 2,700 from one month ago and down 2,100 compared to June 2020. The labour force participation rate in June was 66.5 per cent, an increase of 0.3 percentage points from May 2021.
The three-month moving average unemployment rate used by the Employment Insurance program for both the Charlottetown and PEI regions remained unchanged at 13.1 per cent in June as the Government of Canada continues to use the temporary minimum unemployment rate for EI purposes . There is no change in EI eligibility in either region.
Nationally, employment increased by 231,000 (1.2 per cent) in June, following a 0.4 per cent decrease in May. All of the increase was in part-time work (264,000 or 8.0 per cent), as full-time employment fell by 33,000 (-0.2 per cent). In addition to the increase in employment, the number of employed people working less than half their usual hours decreased by 276,000 (-19.3 per cent). The labour underutilization rate—which complements the unemployment rate by capturing a broader range of people who are available and want to work—declined 2.0 percentage points to 15.6 per cent in June. Total employment in Canada for June was at 98.2 per cent of its pre-COVID February 2020 level.
Employment in the goods-producing sector was down 48,000, while employment in the services industries increased by 279,000. Employment was at 96.5 per cent of its pre-COVID (February 2020) level in the goods sector, compared with 98.7 per cent for the services-producing sector. Employment increased in Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia, with declines in all other provinces. The unemployment rate for Canada decreased 0.4 percentage points to 7.8 per cent on a seasonally adjusted basis in June.
Unadjusted for seasonality, the national unemployment rate for June was 7.4 per cent. Several population groups designated as visible minorities had rates of joblessness significantly higher than the average, including South Asian Canadians at 12.2 per cent, Arab Canadians at 11.6 per cent, and Chinese Canadians at 10.2 per cent.
Employment gains (+)/ losses (-) between June 2020 and June 2021 occurred in the following sectors on Prince Edward Island*:
|
Goods-producing sector: |
-1,400 | Service-providing sector: |
+4,800 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Agriculture: |
-400 |
Trade (Retail/Wholesale): |
+1,000 |
|
Other Primary Industries: |
+100 |
Transport & Warehousing: |
-600 |
|
Manufacturing: |
+400 |
Finance, Insurance, Real Estate: |
-100 |
|
Construction: |
-1,500 |
Business Services: |
0 |
|
Utilities: |
0 |
Professional, Scientific and Technical: |
+300 |
|
|
|
Educational Services: |
+1,000 |
|
|
|
Health & Social Services: |
+900 |
|
|
|
Public Administration: |
+400 |
|
|
|
Information, Culture and Recreation: |
+600 |
|
|
|
Accommodation & Food services: |
+1,100 |
| Other Services: | 0 |
PEI Unemployment Rate
(Seasonally Adjusted)
Gender Impacts of COVID-19 and the Provincial Labour Market Situation
June saw a general deterioration in the employment situation on the Island, with declines across all broad categories. As of June 2021, core aged workers (workers aged 24-55) achieved 97.7 per cent of their pre-COVID employment. Older works (aged 55 years and up), had achieved 93.6 per cent of their pre-COVID employment, while youth (aged 15-24) continued to lag at 88 per cent of pre-COVID employment. These are down by 1.0 per cent, 2.5 per cent and 3.0 per cent respectively from May 2021. The breakdown by gender is below.
As can be seen in the figure below, despite the deterioration in the employment situation, males aged 25-54 and males aged 55 years and over have employment levels that match those seen pre-pandemic. Between May and June, males aged 25-54 saw their employment level decline by 0.8 percentage points to 100 per cent of pre-COVID levels, while the employment level for males aged 15-24 declined by 5.8 percentage points to 87 per cent of pre-COVID levels. Males aged 55 and over saw their employment level decline by 1.9 percentage points – a third straight month of decline - but remained at their pre-COVID level of 100 per cent.
All female age groups saw a decrease in their pre- COVID levels of employment in June, except for women aged 15-24, who saw no change remaining at 89.1 per cent of their pre-COVID employment. Females aged 24-54 saw their percentage of pre-COVID employment decrease by 0.8 percentage points and remain the female group closest to pre-COVID employment, at 95.5 per cent. Females aged 55 and over saw a decrease in employment in June. Their percentage of pre-COVID employment decreased 3.1 percentage points to 86.5 per cent in June and are the group currently furthest from their pre-COVID level of employment.
* Components may not sum to total due to rounding
** Effective August 9th. 2020, the Government of Canada introduced a temporary minimum unemployment rate of 13.1 per cent for EI purposes for all economic regions of Canada.
Notes:
- The LFS estimates for June are for the week of June 13 to 19, 2021.
- 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 August 6, 2021.
Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey Estimates, released July 9, 2021.
Related downloads for this release:
Monthly Labour Force Survey report - PDF (100KB)