Friday, November 3, 2006 Released at 7:00 a.m. Eastern time in The Daily

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Employment increased by an estimated 51,000 in October following four months of little change. The unemployment rate declined 0.2 percentage points to 6.2%. Since the beginning of the year, employment has increased by 261,000 (+1.6%).

Full-time employment showed continued strength, jumping by 68,000 in October. For the first 10 months of 2006, full-time employment increased by 1.9% or 259,000 workers.

Full-time growth for youth was strong in October (+36,000), with one-third of the gains coming from Alberta.

Nationally, the unemployment rate for adult women set a record low, dropping to 4.9%, while for adult men it edged down to 5.4%.

The western provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan continued to outpace the rest of the country in employment growth so far this year. In Alberta alone, employment for the month increased by 23,000 in October, while the unemployment rate hit a three-decade low of 3.0%.

Manufacturing continued its downward trend in October. So far in 2006, there are 83,000 fewer factory workers across Canada, with Central Canada being particularly hard hit.

In October, there were also losses in professional, scientific and technical services and agriculture; however, these declines were more than offset by increases in several industries including education; construction; business, building and other support services; as well as public administration.

Construction employment increased by 21,000 in October — with two-thirds of the growth coming from Alberta. Since the beginning of 2006, the national level of employment in the industry has remained relatively flat, following two years of rapid growth.

More Alberta youths working

Following four months of weakness, youth employment jumped by 34,000 in October, all in full time. Almost half of the employment growth came from Alberta, pushing the youth employment rate up 2.9 percentage points to 67.5%, the highest rate in the country.

Adult women continued to add to full-time employment in October, outpacing the rate of job growth for both adult men and youth so far this year.

No rest for the West

Alberta's unemployment rate fell 0.5 percentage points to 3.0% in October, the lowest in 30 years, driven by strong gains in employment (+23,000). The unemployment rate for adult men plummeted to 1.8%. The last time it was lower was in July 1976 at 1.5%. So far in 2006, 102,000 workers (+5.7%) have been added to the Alberta labour market, accounting for 39.2% of the growth in Canada's employment.

In October, Alberta's gains came from construction, educational services and natural resources. Over the first 10 months of 2006, employment in natural resources increased 15.6%, while construction rose by 14.3%.

British Columbia added 13,000 more workers in October, bringing total gains since the start of the year to 47,000 or 2.2%.The unemployment rate remains among the lowest in the country at 4.6%. Increases over the first 10 months of 2006 occurred in a number of industries, including business, building and other support services, health care and social assistance, and educational services.

Employment in Saskatchewan (+3,000) continued to increase in October. Since the start of the year, 21,000 workers (+4.3%) have been added, mostly in trade, accommodation and food services, and construction. This rate of growth is second only to Alberta. The unemployment rate declined 0.4 percentage points to 3.9%, a rate not seen since July 1981.

In the Atlantic region, New Brunswick's employment increased by 3,000 in October, regaining some of the losses from the previous four months. So far in 2006, employment has declined 0.7%, with weaknesses in trade, health and social assistance, as well as educational services.

Although there was little increase in October, Newfoundland and Labrador's employment has grown 4.0% (+9,000) since the start of 2006. Health care and social assistance, educational services, as well as natural resources were all strong contributors to this year's growth.

Manufacturing woes continue in Central Canada

Manufacturing employment continued its downward trend in October (-15,000) with the lion's share of the losses in Ontario and Quebec. Over the first 10 months of 2006, losses have totaled 83,000 or down 3.8% across Canada.

In Ontario, despite losses in manufacturing (-18,000), overall employment was little changed in October. Employment gains in finance, insurance, real estate and leasing, as well as educational services made up for the losses sustained in the manufacturing industry. The unemployment rate declined to 6.4% in October, the result of fewer people looking for work.

In Quebec, public administration as well as business, building and other support services all gained more workers for the month, which offset the drop in manufacturing (-8,000). In October, the unemployment rate edged down to a 30-year low of 7.7%.

Employment growth in both Quebec and Ontario is 0.8% so far in 2006, only half the national rate.

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

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 3701.

Available at 7:00 a.m. online under The Daily module of our website.

A more detailed summary, Labour Force Information (71-001-XIE, free) is now available online for the week ending October 14. 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, 2005 (71F0004XCB, $209) is also 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 December 1.

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 Vincent Ferrao (613-951-4750) or Jane Lin (613-951-9691), Labour Statistics Division.