New Brunswick Loses 800 Jobs In December
New Brunswick lost approximately 4,800 full-time jobs in December and added approximately 4,100 part-time positions, according to the latest labour force survey from Statistics Canada.
The unemployment rate fell 0.3 percentage points to 9.3 percent as the size of New Brunswick’s labour force dropped by 1,900. The current labour force is 392,600 with 356,100 employed.
Most job losses were seen in the goods-producing sectors with 1,600 jobs lost overall. 1,200 jobs were lost in the manufacturing sector and 800 were lost in the natural resources sector. Gains were found in the construction and utilities sectors with 300 and 100 jobs, respectively.
Gains were found in services-producing sectors with 900 jobs added overall. Wholesale and retail trade saw the biggest gains with 1,200 jobs added, followed by transportation and warehousing with 1,100 jobs added. Losses were found in provincial, scientific and technical services with 800 job losses and in public administration with 600 jobs lost.
Saint John saw a gain of 1,300 jobs from November to December, with the employed labour force going from 59,600 to 60,900. The labour force grew by 2,900, which is why the unemployment rate rose rise 8 percentage points from 10.2 to 11.0.
In Moncton, 400 jobs were lost in December, bringing the total employment numbers to 82,500. The labour force also diminished by 400 to 90,700. Moncton’s unemployment rate grew by 1 percentage point to 9.0.
The Central Region of the province that includes Fredericton saw 400 jobs added from November to December, with the number of people seeking jobs decreasing by 500 people. The unemployment rate sits at 5.9 percent, down from 6.6 percent in November. Fredericton numbers are measured without accounting for seasonal adjustments while the statistics for Saint John, Moncton, and the province are seasonally adjusted.
New Brunswick’s numbers are consistent with other Atlantic provinces P.E.I. and Newfoundland and Labrador, but Nova Scotia saw a sharper decrease losing 9,600 jobs in December.
Nationally, Canada saw 63,000 jobs lost and a 0.1 point increase in the unemployment rate to 8.6 percent. This marks the first time since April where job numbers decreased.
The survey also reports 28.6 percent of Canadians worked from home in December, an increase from 25.6 percent in September. At the height of the COVID-19 economic shutdown in April, 41.6percent of Canadians worked from home.
Liam Floyd is a reporter for Huddle. Send him story suggestions: [email protected].