Unemployment rates, by province

The unemployment rate of Newfoundland and Labrador is still the highest

• Over the past three decades, Newfoundland and Labrador has had the highest rates of unemployment in the country and 2003 was no exception at 16.7%—9.1 percentage points above the national average of 7.6%. The next-highest province was Prince Edward Island at 11.1%.
• With the exception of a six-year period where Ontario had a lower rate (from 1985 to 1990), the Prairie provinces have had the lowest unemployment rates in the country over the past three decades. In 2003, Manitoba had the lowest rate at 5.0%, followed closely by Alberta (5.1%) and Saskatchewan (5.6%).
• Since the early 1990s, women have had a lower unemployment rate than men in most provinces. However, the trend is much less pronounced in the west than in the east.

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