Province�s employment numbers remain strong for first half of 2002

Newfoundland and Labrador continued to make gains in employment in June according to the latest Labour Force Survey from Statistics Canada. Employment stood at 229,500, an increase of 1.3 per cent or 3,000 jobs as compared to June last year bringing year-to-date employment growth to 1.9 per cent or approximately 3,900 jobs.

Employment growth is encouraging more people to participate in the labour force. The labour force grew by 1.6 per cent on a year-over-year basis, thereby causing the unemployment rate to increase by 0.2 percentage points to 15.5 per cent as compared to June 2001.

"For the past 18 months, Newfoundland and Labrador has recorded employment growth on a year-over-year basis," said Ralph Wiseman, Minister of Human Resources and Employment. "This has allowed employment to grow to record levels. We expect employment to continue to grow for the remainder of the year driven by major project developments and expanding services sector activity."

On a seasonally adjusted basis, employment increased by 1.8 per cent while the unemployment rate decreased by 1.1 percentage points to stand at 15.7 per cent. Seasonally adjusted data looks at patterns of employment change within the current year from one month to the next, whereas the unadjusted data compares employment this year to employment last year.

Media contact: Paul Power, Communications, (709) 729-6156.

2002 07 05                                2:00 p.m.