Employment continues moving upward in province

Newfoundland and Labrador saw further growth in employment last month, building on the strong gains that were made in 2001.

Employment in the province increased by 1.9 per cent, or 3,700 jobs, in February as compared to the same month last year according to the latest Labour Force Survey from Statistics Canada. The unemployment rate increased by 1.9 percentage points to 19.2 per cent, due to an increase in people actively looking for work. The year-over-year labour force grew by 4.4 per cent to 241,100 for the month.

"These latest numbers are very encouraging as we move further into the new year," said Gerald Smith, Minister of Human Resources and Employment. "We have a strong foundation from which to build thanks to the significant employment growth we recorded last year, and most economic forecasters are predicting that we will record further employment growth for 2002."

Employment growth was concentrated in services sector industries such as wholesale and retail trade, educational services, management services, and food and accommodations.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, employment declined by 0.2 per cent compared to January 2002 and the unemployment rate increased by 0.4 percentage points to 17.8 per cent compared to the previous month. Seasonally adjusted data looks at patterns of employment change within the current year from one month to the next, whereas the actual data compares employment this year to employment last year.

"The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is encouraged to see employment growth continue," said Minister Smith. "This trend has helped in strengthening optimism and confidence in our local economy which is evident in the increase in the number of people actively participating in the labour market."

Media contact: Paul Power, Communications, (709) 729-4062.

2002 03 08                        12:10 p.m.