Newfoundland and Labrador regained 10,000 jobs in May in what the Conference Board of Canada described as an “especially strong” part of a nationwide rebound, and expectations are the numbers for June will show even more improvement.
Still, with unemployment actually up in the province, the opposition Progressive Conservatives are calling on Premier Dwight Ball’s government to formulate “a detailed plan with concrete actions” to help speed the recovery of the province’s labour market from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In its monthly labour force survey (LFS), Statistics Canada reports the number of jobs grew by nearly 290,000 in May, with every province except Ontario showing gains.
However, both the Canadian and Newfoundland and Labrador unemployment rates rose in May. Nationally, it was 13.7 per cent, the highest monthly number in more than four decades of comparable data. For Newfoundland and Labrador, the jobless rate was 16.3 percent, up from 16 per cent in April.
According to Statistics Canada, the reason for the increase in the unemployment rate, despite the job recovery, was a growth in the participation rate in the labour market, with nearly half a million people — including almost 13,000 in Newfoundland and Labrador — re-entering the workforce in search of jobs.
The Conference Board noted that because of the “volatility in employment with workers opting in and out of the labour force,” the unemployment rate numbers should be interpreted with caution, adding the fact so many Canadians have started or resumed looking for work could be seen as a sign there is confidence that job prospects are improving.
However, with Newfoundland and Labrador’s unemployment rate 3.8 per cent higher than it was in May 2019, Topsail-Paradise MHA Paul Dinn, the Tories' advanced education, skills and labour critic, said, “we still have a long way to go."
“Although the latest labour force survey provides some hope, there is still a long road ahead for Newfoundlanders and Labradoreans,” Dinn stated in a news release from the Opposition. “We will not have a labour force to draw from if we do not provide opportunities for meaningful long-term employment with a well thought-out plan.
“What is government planning for post-COVID to create jobs, increase our population and ensure our small businesses thrive?”
Quebec, which began easing COVID-19 restrictions ahead of some other provinces, accounted for the vast majority of employment growth in May, with more than 230,000 jobs gained; the Conference Board’s assessment of the labour force survey numbers also pointed out Quebec had experienced greater job losses during the pandemic than other provinces.
In Newfoundland and Labrador, more than 9,000 of the 10,000 new jobs were full-time, with the most improvement shown among females age 25 and over. In fact, the unemployment rate in that group fell a bit in May.
Statistics Canada and the Conference Board offered some observations that leaned toward the positive, predicting that with more provinces — such as Newfoundland and Labrador will do next week — easing off pandemic-produced restrictions in June, there should be a clearer snapshot of Canada’s progress in the recovery next month. In addition, it was pointed out the latest labour force survey numbers were the result of surveys during the second week of May and did not reflect any improvements made over the second half of the month.
Nevertheless, Statistics Canada ended its summary of the May findings by saying “market conditions are likely to evolve at an uncertain pace and in unknown direction.”
