It seems to have passed unnoticed by the news media and the government spinners but the monthly labour force survey released last Friday revealed Nova Scotia hitting a milestone \u2013 the unemployment rate in April was 6.7 per cent. That\u2019s the lowest it has been since Statistics Canada began reporting comparable data in 1976.<\/p>\n
Considering that double-digit unemployment was the norm in Nova Scotia for most of the 42 years covered by the data set, the low rate \u2013 part of a downward trend that started last fall \u2013 may once have been considered a big deal. The fact that it has so far gone unremarked indicates that the issue has changed \u2013 from concern about the number in the labour force without work to a focus on the size of the labour force itself. On that score, the 6.7 per cent rate reflects a mixed blessing.<\/p>\n
On the positive side, Stats Canada reported employment at 457,500 in April, 7,500 more than the same month last year. That total may look impressive, but it is only 1,200 above April 2012. That year was the high water mark for employment in Nova Scotia and the numbers have been lower every year since.<\/p>\n
If the current pace continues, 2018 may turn out to be the year the province breaks the annual average employment record set in 2012. But that could prove difficult, considering that the other determinant in calculating the unemployment rate \u2013 the labour force \u2013 shows no sign of growing. As the table shows, the labour force has fallen by more than 10,000 since 2012 \u2013 hence the significantly lower unemployment rate despite the insignificant increase in jobs over the last six years. There are fewer people seeking available jobs.<\/p>\n
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Table 1: Calculation of unemployment rate<\/strong><\/p>\n