Nova Scotia Gained 10,000 Jobs In November
HALIFAX – Despite the Covid-19 pandemic causing economic devastation across Canada, employment continued to grow in Halifax and across Nova Scotia between October and November. According to Statistics Canada, approximately 242,900 were employed in Halifax in November, an increase of 2,600 from the previous month. The city also continues to see hundreds of new people moving into the city each month.
Nova Scotia as a whole continued its upward trend in employment, according to the latest report. Nova Scotia gained 10,000 jobs between October and November, 8,800 of which were full-time jobs. Provincewide, the unemployment rate dropped from 8.7 percent to 6.4 percent.
The unemployment rate also dipped significantly in November, going from 7.7 percent down to 6.6 percent. In total, there were still 17,300 people in Halifax who were listed as unemployed in November. But, back in October, there were 20,000 unemployed workers.
The Statscan report summary highlighted the success of Atlantic Canada as a whole for its job growth in November, noting that all four provinces saw an increase. Nova Scotia, with its 10,000 new jobs led all of the Atlantic Canadian provinces.
“Nova Scotia posted the largest employment increase among the Atlantic provinces, up 10,000 (+2.2 percent), continuing the upward trend since April,” states the summary. “The increase in November was mostly in full-time work. The unemployment rate fell 2.3 percentage points to 6.4 percent, the lowest since March 2019 and the lowest among the provinces.”
Young people made significant gains in employment during this one-month span in Nova Scotia. The workforce for those between the ages of 15 and 24 years of age grew by 2,600 between October and November.
Women also made gains in the Nova Scotian workforce in November. The Statistics Canada report shows that women 25 years of age and older gained 3,500 jobs compared to October. There are currently 200,900 women in this age group who are employed throughout the province.
Women still have a lower employment rate than men in the province, however. In November, 59.8 percent of men 25 and older were listed as employed, compared to 54.4 percent for women.
Unsurprisingly, the number of people working from home across Canada continues to increase at a quick pace, because of the pandemic. In November 4.6 million Canadians reported working from home, an increase of 250,000 in October. Out of the 4.6 million working from home, 2.5 million say they don’t work from home under normal circumstances.