Labour Force Survey Monthly
Labour Force Survey, October 2018
released November 2, 2018
Prince Edward Island Employment
| Month | Can | NL | PE | NS | NB | QC | ON | MB | SK | AB | BC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2018 | 5.8 | 12.7 | 7.2 | 7.7 | 7.2 | 5.2 | 5.6 | 6.1 | 6.2 | 7.3 | 4.1 |
| September 2018 | 5.9 | 13.6 | 8.7 | 7.8 | 7.9 | 5.3 | 5.9 | 5.8 | 6.4 | 7.0 | 4.2 |
| October 2017 | 6.2 | 14.2 | 10.2 | 8.8 | 7.8 | 6.0 | 5.8 | 5.3 | 5.9 | 7.6 | 4.9 |
| Annual change (pp) | -0.4 | -1.5 | -3.0 | -1.1 | -0.6 | -0.8 | -0.2 | 0.8 | 0.3 | -0.3 | -0.8 |
| Monthly change (pp) | -0.1 | -0.9 | -1.5 | -0.1 | -0.7 | -0.1 | -0.3 | 0.3 | -0.2 | 0.3 | -0.1 |
Summary
Today’s Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey shows that P.E.I.’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 7.2 per cent in October 2018. This is the lowest unemployment rate on record for PEI (current labour force survey data series, since January 1976). This is down 1.5 percentage points from last month and down 3.0 percentage points from October 2017, the largest year over year decline among provinces. Seasonally adjusted employment in October totaled 76,900, an increase of 4,100 from one year ago and up by 500 from September 2018. This is an all time high for employment for Prince Edward Island. The annual increase was a result of an increase of 4,700 in full-time employment while part-time employment decreased by 700. The number of unemployed persons on Prince Edward Island decreased to 6,000, down by 1,300 from one month ago and down by 2,300 from October 2017. The labour force participation rate stood at 65.6 in October, up 0.4 percentage points from October 2017. The total labour force increased by 1,800 from October 2017 to total 82,900.
The three-month moving average unemployment rate used by the Employment Insurance program for the Charlottetown region decreased to 6.1 per cent in October, down from 6.8 per cent in September. The rate in the PEI region in October was 11.2 per cent, down from 11.7 per cent in September. There is no change in EI eligibility criteria in either region.
Nationally, employment changed little in October and the unemployment rate decreased 0.1 percentage points to 5.8 per cent as fewer people were looking for work. Year over year to October, national employment has increased by 206,000, or 1.1%, with most of the increase in full-time employment. Employment rose slightly in Saskatchewan with little change in other provinces.
Employment gains (+)/ losses (-) between October 2017 and October 2018 occurred in the following sectors on Prince Edward Island:
|
Goods-producing sector: |
+2,400 |
Service-providing sector: |
+1,600 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Agriculture: |
+1,200 |
Trade (Retail/Wholesale): |
-400 |
|
Other Primary Industries: |
-100 |
Transport & Warehousing: |
0 |
|
Manufacturing: |
+1,000 |
Finance, Insurance, Real Estate: |
+400 |
|
Construction: |
+300 |
Business Services: |
+300 |
|
Utilities: |
x |
Professional, Scientific and Technical: |
-100 |
|
|
|
Educational Services: |
+100 |
|
|
|
Health & Social Services: |
-400 |
|
|
|
Public Administration: |
+400 |
|
|
|
Information, Culture and Recreation: |
-100 |
|
|
|
Accommodation & Food services: |
+1,300 |
| 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 October are for the week of October 7 to 13, 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 December 7, 2018.
Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey Estimates, released November 2, 2018.
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