N.B.’s Employment Back To Pre-Covid Level With 4,200 Jobs Added In November
Employment in New Brunswick returned to pre-Covid-19 levels in November, with 4,200 jobs gained, according to Statistic Canada’s latest labour force survey.
According to Statistics Canada, the 1.2 percent monthly increase is the first significant employment gain for New Brunswick since substantial growth in May and June.
The bulk of the jobs gained (3,400) were full-time roles. The unemployment rate in the province fell 0.5 percentage points to 9.6 percent.
Those gains were mostly in the services producing sector, with 285,600 people employed in that sector in November.
The healthcare and social assistance sector saw 2,500 added jobs, followed by the finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing sector with 1,100. Public administration jobs also grew 900 jobs gained.
In the goods-producing sector, the manufacturing industry created the most jobs with 1,300 gained, followed by natural resources at 900 jobs gained.
Overall, the construction sector, and wholesale and retail trade lost the most jobs at 1,800 and 1,700, respectively. The educational services and agriculture sectors also lost about 500 and 200 jobs, respectively.
Moncton lost 100 jobs as its labour force grew by 700 to 91,100 in November. Its unemployment rate went up 0.6 points to 8.1 percent.
Saint John gained 800 jobs though its labour force also grew by 1,200 to 66,500. The city’s unemployment rate increased by 0.2 points to 10.2 percent.
The Central Region of the province that includes the Fredericton area had an unemployment rate of 6.6 percent in November, down from 8 percent in October. The data showed a gain of 100 jobs, 300 full-time ones.
The other three Atlantic provinces also experienced employment growth, with Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia also back to pre-pandemic levels.
Nationwide, Canada added 62,100 jobs and posted an 8.5 percent unemployment rate, down 0.4 percentage points.
Full-time employment increased by 99,000 but part-time work fell by approximately 37,400.
Some 250,000 more Canadians are also working from home last month.
According to Statistics Canada, 4.6 million Canadians worked from home, including 2.5 million who don’t usually work from home. Meanwhile, the number of people working at places outside the home dropped by around 100,000 to 12.2 million.
Inda Intiar is a reporter for Huddle. Send her story suggestions: [email protected]