Prince Edward Island

The employment rate in Prince Edward Island reaches another high

• Since 1992, the employment rate in Prince Edward Island has been on an upward trend (from 53.7% in 1992 to 60.8% in 2003), reflecting healthy job growth during this period. Moreover, 2003 was the sixth record-breaking year in a row for the Island's employment rate, which was the highest among the Atlantic provinces.
• The 2003 employment rate gap of 1.6 percentage points between the Island and the national average (62.4%) has narrowed in recent years, from 4.7 percentage points in 1992. This follows a national trend in which most provincial employment rates are converging towards the average.
• Employment on the Island was up by an estimated 1,700 (+2.5%) in 2003 from the previous year and the growth was entirely in the services-producing industries, mostly in trade and public administration.
• The unemployment rate in Prince Edward Island dropped a full percentage point from 2002 to 2003 (from 12.1% to 11.1%). Despite this drop, the participation rate reached a record high of 68.5% in 2003, which was above the national average.

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