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Minister comments on recent employment figures Human Resources and Employment Minister Julie Bettney today cautioned against interpreting recent declines in seasonally adjusted employment figures as an accurate measure of actual job losses. She said these seasonally adjusted figures can be misleading for a number of reasons, including the changing patterns of seasonal activity, particularly in the fishing industry. To get a clearer picture of the employment trends in this province, year-over-year comparisons of actual job figures should be used. "The seasonally adjusted employment changes in July and August can largely be traced to the Abitibi Consolidated strike, as well as the earlier start and completion of the crab fishery this year," noted the minister. "However, if you look at actual employment numbers, there was a 3.2 per cent increase in the number of people employed in the January to August period in 1998 compared to the same time period last year." The minister explained that this year-to-date gain comes despite a decline of 4,900 jobs in August over the same month last year. This decline can be attributed to the early end of the crab fishing season in 1998. "Last August there were about 7,100 people employed in crab processing, while this August that number was virtually nil." "For now, we remain optimistic about the prospects for growth in key sectors of our economy, notably the fishery, petroleum, tourism and information technology," said Minister Bettney. "However, we are cognizant of the turmoil currently being experienced in world financial markets and a slow-down in global economic growth, and we are concerned about the potential effect it may have here in Newfoundland and Labrador." Media contact: Karen Kelloway, (709) 729-4062. 1998 09 11 4:30 p.m.
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