Friday, May 9, 2008 Released at 7:00 a.m. Eastern time in The Daily

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Employment edged up slightly in April (+19,000), similar to the increase observed in March. This follows large gains at the start of the year. The unemployment rate nudged up to 6.1% in April as more people entered the labour force. Self-employment and full-time work accounted for all of the gains in April.

Over the past 12 months, employment increased by an estimated 348,000 (+2.1%), with full time growing twice as fast as part time. The employment rate, the share of the working-age population who are employed, continued to hover around a record high in April.

Adjusted for comparability with the United States, the employment rate increased 0.5 percentage points over the last 12 months, reaching 64.5% in April 2008. This contrasts with the United States, where the rate fell 0.3 percentage points to 62.7% over the same period. Employment in construction and financial activities has declined in the United States while these industries, especially construction, have added employment in Canada over the past 12 months. Both countries, however, have experienced pronounced employment declines in manufacturing.

In April, employment increased in accommodation and food services, as well as construction. Over the past 12 months, the construction industry led employment growth, adding 113,000 workers.

Manufacturing continued its decline in April, with losses in Ontario and British Columbia. Overall, the number of factory workers has decreased by 112,000 since April 2007.

While there were small employment increases across most of the country, Manitoba was the only province with strong growth in April. Quebec, on the other hand, was the only province to experience a loss for the month.

Year-over-year growth in average hourly wages was 4.3% in April, slightly lower than earlier in the year, but continuing well above the most recent increase in the Consumer Price Index (+1.4%). Provincially, the strongest wage growth has been in Newfoundland and Labrador, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

Employment gains in accommodation and food as well as construction

With gains in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia, accommodation and food services continued to add employment in April (+22,000). These recent increases offset losses observed towards the latter part of last year.

Construction employment continued on its upward trend in April (+16,000). This brings employment gains over the last 12 months to 113,000 (+10.1%), the largest of any industry.

Manufacturing employment edged down in April, continuing the downward slide that began towards the end of 2002. Over the last 12 months alone, employment fell by 112,000, with nearly half the losses in Ontario (-50,000) and the remainder mainly in British Columbia (-29,000), Quebec (-13,000) and Alberta (-11,000).

Manitoba adds employment in April

In April, employment increased by an estimated 9,000 in Manitoba, boosting employment growth over the past 12 months to 3.1%. The added employment in April pushed the unemployment rate down 0.5 percentage points to 3.8%, the second lowest in the country after Alberta. Manitoba's employment and participation rates both attained all-time highs in April.

Employment in Ontario edged up 12,000 in April, mainly among younger workers, bringing growth since April 2007 to 2.2%, just above the national average. Increases over this period occurred in construction as well as several service industries. However, the downward trend in manufacturing employment continued, with a decline of 15,000 in April.

Newfoundland and Labrador experienced an employment gain in April (+2,400), continuing the upward trend which started last summer, bringing its employment rate to a record high of 52.6%. Over the last 12 months, employment has increased by 2.3%, with growth stemming from construction, professional, scientific and technical services as well as public administration.

In Alberta and British Columbia, the continued strength of the labour market resulted in record high employment rates in April for both provinces. Employment growth in British Columbia and Alberta over the last 12 months has been above the national average, at 3.4% and 3.0% respectively. In April, there was little change in employment in both provinces.

Employment in Quebec fell by an estimated 20,000 in April, mostly among youths, pushing the unemployment rate in the province up 0.3 percentage points to 7.6%. This is the first significant employment decline in two years. There were fewer people working this April in a number of service industries and in agriculture. The decrease leaves employment in the province up only 0.7% (+27,000) above the level of 12 months ago.

More adult women working

Women aged 25 and over were the only demographic group to experience employment growth in April (+17,000), once again keeping their unemployment rate below that of adult men (4.7% versus 5.2%). Despite this month's increase, the rate of employment growth for adult women since April 2007 (+1.6%), was below that of adult men (+2.4%).

Note: The Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates are based on a sample, and are therefore subject to sampling variability. Estimates for smaller geographic areas or industries will have more variability. For an explanation of sampling variability of estimates, and how to use standard errors to assess this variability, consult the "Data quality" section of the publication Labour Force Information (71-001-XWE, free).

Available on CANSIM: tables 282-0001 to 282-0042, 282-0047 to 282-0064 and 282-0069 to 282-0099.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 3701.

A more detailed summary, Labour Force Information (71-001-XWE, free) is now available online for the week ending April 19. From the Publications module of our website, under Free Internet publications, choose Labour. LAN and bulk prices are available on request. The CD-ROM Labour Force Historical Review, 2007 (71F0004XCB, $209) is now available.

Data tables are also now available online. From the By Subject module of our website, choose Labour.

The next release of the Labour Force Survey will be on June 6.

For general information or to order data, contact Client Services (toll-free 1-866-873-8788; 613-951-4090; labour@statcan.ca). To enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Danielle Zietsma (613-951-4243; danielle.zietsma@statcan.ca), or Vincent Ferrao (613-951-4750; vincent.ferrao@statcan.ca), Labour Statistics Division.

Labour force characteristics by age and sex
	March 2008	April 2008	March to April 2008	April 2007 to April 2008	March to April 2008	April 2007 to April 2008
	Seasonally adjusted
	thousands		change in thousands		% change
Both sexes 15+
Population	26,803.4	26,839.2	35.8	363.3	0.1	1.4
Labour force	18,216.0	18,239.8	23.8	350.1	0.1	2.0
Employment	17,116.8	17,136.0	19.2	347.8	0.1	2.1
Full-time	14,008.8	14,029.4	20.6	311.2	0.1	2.3
Part-time	3,108.0	3,106.6	-1.4	36.6	0.0	1.2
Unemployment	1,099.2	1,103.8	4.6	2.3	0.4	0.2
Participation rate	68.0	68.0	0.0	0.4	...	...
Unemployment rate	6.0	6.1	0.1	-0.1	...	...
Employment rate	63.9	63.8	-0.1	0.4	...	...
Part-time rate	18.2	18.1	-0.1	-0.2	...	...
Youths 15 to 24
Population	4,369.8	4,371.3	1.5	24.3	0.0	0.6
Labour force	2,943.7	2,982.8	39.1	75.5	1.3	2.6
Employment	2,620.7	2,631.0	10.3	59.0	0.4	2.3
Full-time	1,443.9	1,464.6	20.7	45.0	1.4	3.2
Part-time	1,176.8	1,166.3	-10.5	13.9	-0.9	1.2
Unemployment	323.0	351.8	28.8	16.5	8.9	4.9
Participation rate	67.4	68.2	0.8	1.3	...	...
Unemployment rate	11.0	11.8	0.8	0.3	...	...
Employment rate	60.0	60.2	0.2	1.0	...	...
Part-time rate	44.9	44.3	-0.6	-0.5	...	...
Men 25+
Population	10,961.5	10,978.6	17.1	169.5	0.2	1.6
Labour force	8,149.4	8,134.2	-15.2	167.8	-0.2	2.1
Employment	7,721.8	7,714.1	-7.7	184.4	-0.1	2.4
Full-time	7,227.6	7,216.8	-10.8	181.0	-0.1	2.6
Part-time	494.2	497.2	3.0	3.3	0.6	0.7
Unemployment	427.7	420.1	-7.6	-16.5	-1.8	-3.8
Participation rate	74.3	74.1	-0.2	0.4	...	...
Unemployment rate	5.2	5.2	0.0	-0.3	...	...
Employment rate	70.4	70.3	-0.1	0.6	...	...
Part-time rate	6.4	6.4	0.0	-0.2	...	...
Women 25+
Population	11,472.1	11,489.3	17.2	169.5	0.1	1.5
Labour force	7,122.9	7,122.8	-0.1	106.7	0.0	1.5
Employment	6,774.3	6,791.0	16.7	104.5	0.2	1.6
Full-time	5,337.4	5,347.9	10.5	85.1	0.2	1.6
Part-time	1,437.0	1,443.1	6.1	19.4	0.4	1.4
Unemployment	348.6	331.9	-16.7	2.3	-4.8	0.7
Participation rate	62.1	62.0	-0.1	0.0	...	...
Unemployment rate	4.9	4.7	-0.2	0.0	...	...
Employment rate	59.1	59.1	0.0	0.0	...	...
Part-time rate	21.2	21.3	0.1	0.0	...	...
... not applicable Note: Related CANSIM table 282-0087.

Employment by class of worker and industry (based on NAICS1)
	March 2008	April 2008	March to April 2008	April 2007 to April 2008	March to April 2008	April 2007 to April 2008
	Seasonally adjusted
	thousands		change in thousands		% change
Class of worker
Employees	14,508.6	14,509.4	0.8	313.3	0.0	2.2
Self-employed	2,608.2	2,626.5	18.3	34.4	0.7	1.3
Public/private sector employees
Public	3,411.7	3,420.8	9.1	190.4	0.3	5.9
Private	11,097.0	11,088.7	-8.3	123.1	-0.1	1.1
All industries	17,116.8	17,136.0	19.2	347.8	0.1	2.1
Goods-producing sector	4,008.1	4,004.4	-3.7	16.7	-0.1	0.4
Agriculture	337.7	332.3	-5.4	3.6	-1.6	1.1
Natural resources	339.3	341.5	2.2	-9.6	0.6	-2.7
Utilities	150.9	149.0	-1.9	21.2	-1.3	16.6
Construction	1,213.3	1,229.5	16.2	113.0	1.3	10.1
Manufacturing	1,966.9	1,952.0	-14.9	-111.5	-0.8	-5.4
Service-producing sector	13,108.7	13,131.6	22.9	331.0	0.2	2.6
Trade	2,697.0	2,695.8	-1.2	10.6	0.0	0.4
Transportation and warehousing	864.8	859.0	-5.8	30.9	-0.7	3.7
Finance, insurance, real estate and leasing	1,074.3	1,078.4	4.1	21.8	0.4	2.1
Professional, scientific and technical services	1,198.3	1,199.4	1.1	90.7	0.1	8.2
Business, building and other support services	721.1	709.4	-11.7	20.6	-1.6	3.0
Educational services	1,190.8	1,204.6	13.8	25.7	1.2	2.2
Health care and social assistance	1,883.1	1,885.4	2.3	38.1	0.1	2.1
Information, culture and recreation	756.2	763.3	7.1	-12.5	0.9	-1.6
Accommodation and food services	1,053.7	1,075.9	22.2	5.2	2.1	0.5
Other services	743.1	734.0	-9.1	21.4	-1.2	3.0
Public administration	926.3	926.5	0.2	78.7	0.0	9.3
1. North American Industry Classification System. Note: Related to CANSIM tables 282-0088 and 282-0089.

Labour force characteristics by province
	March 2008	April 2008	March to April 2008	April 2007 to April 2008	March to April 2008	April 2007 to April 2008
	Seasonally adjusted
	thousands		change in thousands		% change
Newfoundland and Labrador
Population	425.4	425.6	0.2	0.7	0.0	0.2
Labour force	253.1	257.6	4.5	5.9	1.8	2.3
Employment	221.3	223.7	2.4	5.1	1.1	2.3
Full-time	187.4	189.1	1.7	1.2	0.9	0.6
Part-time	34.0	34.6	0.6	3.9	1.8	12.7
Unemployment	31.8	33.9	2.1	0.8	6.6	2.4
Participation rate	59.5	60.5	1.0	1.3	...	...
Unemployment rate	12.6	13.2	0.6	0.0	...	...
Employment rate	52.0	52.6	0.6	1.2	...	...
Prince Edward Island
Population	113.8	114.0	0.2	1.1	0.2	1.0
Labour force	79.1	79.4	0.3	1.9	0.4	2.5
Employment	71.0	70.4	-0.6	0.4	-0.8	0.6
Full-time	58.8	59.4	0.6	1.2	1.0	2.1
Part-time	12.1	11.0	-1.1	-0.8	-9.1	-6.8
Unemployment	8.2	8.9	0.7	1.4	8.5	18.7
Participation rate	69.5	69.6	0.1	1.0	...	...
Unemployment rate	10.4	11.2	0.8	1.5	...	...
Employment rate	62.4	61.8	-0.6	-0.2	...	...
Nova Scotia
Population	767.0	767.7	0.7	4.1	0.1	0.5
Labour force	487.7	490.6	2.9	1.0	0.6	0.2
Employment	449.5	452.4	2.9	2.9	0.6	0.6
Full-time	365.3	369.1	3.8	2.4	1.0	0.7
Part-time	84.1	83.3	-0.8	0.5	-1.0	0.6
Unemployment	38.3	38.2	-0.1	-1.9	-0.3	-4.7
Participation rate	63.6	63.9	0.3	-0.2	...	...
Unemployment rate	7.9	7.8	-0.1	-0.4	...	...
Employment rate	58.6	58.9	0.3	0.0	...	...
New Brunswick
Population	616.6	617.0	0.4	4.5	0.1	0.7
Labour force	400.2	400.6	0.4	8.7	0.1	2.2
Employment	366.3	367.3	1.0	4.6	0.3	1.3
Full-time	310.3	309.3	-1.0	3.6	-0.3	1.2
Part-time	56.1	57.9	1.8	0.9	3.2	1.6
Unemployment	33.9	33.3	-0.6	4.1	-1.8	14.0
Participation rate	64.9	64.9	0.0	0.9	...	...
Unemployment rate	8.5	8.3	-0.2	0.8	...	...
Employment rate	59.4	59.5	0.1	0.3	...	...
Quebec
Population	6,353.5	6,358.9	5.4	55.4	0.1	0.9
Labour force	4,191.4	4,183.5	-7.9	43.2	-0.2	1.0
Employment	3,887.3	3,867.5	-19.8	27.1	-0.5	0.7
Full-time	3,164.0	3,154.2	-9.8	23.4	-0.3	0.7
Part-time	723.3	713.3	-10.0	3.8	-1.4	0.5
Unemployment	304.1	315.9	11.8	16.0	3.9	5.3
Participation rate	66.0	65.8	-0.2	0.1	...	...
Unemployment rate	7.3	7.6	0.3	0.4	...	...
Employment rate	61.2	60.8	-0.4	-0.1	...	...
... not applicable Note: Related CANSIM table 282-0087.

Labour force characteristics by province
	March 2008	April 2008	March to April 2008	April 2007 to April 2008	March to April 2008	April 2007 to April 2008
	Seasonally adjusted
	thousands		change in thousands		% change
Ontario
Population	10,459.9	10,474.4	14.5	142.7	0.1	1.4
Labour force	7,146.3	7,153.2	6.9	132.8	0.1	1.9
Employment	6,688.2	6,700.4	12.2	145.6	0.2	2.2
Full-time	5,470.6	5,481.4	10.8	120.2	0.2	2.2
Part-time	1,217.6	1,219.0	1.4	25.4	0.1	2.1
Unemployment	458.0	452.8	-5.2	-12.9	-1.1	-2.8
Participation rate	68.3	68.3	0.0	0.3	...	...
Unemployment rate	6.4	6.3	-0.1	-0.3	...	...
Employment rate	63.9	64.0	0.1	0.6	...	...
Manitoba
Population	905.9	907.3	1.4	10.5	0.2	1.2
Labour force	630.1	636.0	5.9	13.1	0.9	2.1
Employment	602.7	611.7	9.0	18.5	1.5	3.1
Full-time	494.0	491.3	-2.7	17.8	-0.5	3.8
Part-time	108.7	120.4	11.7	0.8	10.8	0.7
Unemployment	27.4	24.3	-3.1	-5.5	-11.3	-18.5
Participation rate	69.6	70.1	0.5	0.6	...	...
Unemployment rate	4.3	3.8	-0.5	-1.0	...	...
Employment rate	66.5	67.4	0.9	1.3	...	...
Saskatchewan
Population	762.2	763.7	1.5	15.1	0.2	2.0
Labour force	529.9	533.0	3.1	9.7	0.6	1.9
Employment	508.2	510.1	1.9	8.2	0.4	1.6
Full-time	418.4	420.1	1.7	17.7	0.4	4.4
Part-time	89.8	90.0	0.2	-9.4	0.2	-9.5
Unemployment	21.8	22.8	1.0	1.4	4.6	6.5
Participation rate	69.5	69.8	0.3	-0.1	...	...
Unemployment rate	4.1	4.3	0.2	0.2	...	...
Employment rate	66.7	66.8	0.1	-0.2	...	...
Alberta
Population	2,779.2	2,783.8	4.6	59.3	0.2	2.2
Labour force	2,075.9	2,076.5	0.6	57.9	0.0	2.9
Employment	2,004.5	2,008.1	3.6	57.9	0.2	3.0
Full-time	1,695.7	1,695.6	-0.1	58.3	0.0	3.6
Part-time	308.8	312.5	3.7	-0.4	1.2	-0.1
Unemployment	71.4	68.5	-2.9	0.1	-4.1	0.1
Participation rate	74.7	74.6	-0.1	0.5	...	...
Unemployment rate	3.4	3.3	-0.1	-0.1	...	...
Employment rate	72.1	72.1	0.0	0.5	...	...
British Columbia
Population	3,619.9	3,626.9	7.0	69.8	0.2	2.0
Labour force	2,422.2	2,429.4	7.2	75.8	0.3	3.2
Employment	2,317.9	2,324.3	6.4	77.2	0.3	3.4
Full-time	1,843.7	1,859.6	15.9	65.0	0.9	3.6
Part-time	474.2	464.7	-9.5	12.2	-2.0	2.7
Unemployment	104.4	105.1	0.7	-1.4	0.7	-1.3
Participation rate	66.9	67.0	0.1	0.8	...	...
Unemployment rate	4.3	4.3	0.0	-0.2	...	...
Employment rate	64.0	64.1	0.1	0.9	...	...
... not applicable Note: Related CANSIM table 282-0087.