The labour market in 2003 Geoff Bowlby
- Employment growth was slow for most of 2003, but soared in the final four months. The unemployment rate averaged 7.6%, down marginally from 2002.
- Just over 15.7 million people were employed in 2003, up 334,000 (2.2%) from 2002. At 62.4% of the working-age population, this was the highest annual employment rate on record. Much of the gain was in full-time work.
- The continued strength of the housing sector contributed to a 5.5% surge in construction employment, as well as a 4.5% increase in employment in finance, insurance and real estate.
- Self-employment posted its second consecutive yearly gain. After falling 154,000 between 1999 and 2001, self-employment increased 37,000 in 2002 and another 67,000 in 2003.
- Employment in manufacturing fell 32,000 (or 1.4%), with the weakness concentrated in computer and electronic as well as transportation equipment.
- Although employment in public administration surged 37,000 in 2003, it remains well below its peak in 1993. In 1993, civil servants made up 6.7% of the workforce, compared with 5.2% in 2003.
Full article: HTML | PDF
Author
Geoff Bowlby is with the Housing, Family and Social Statistics Division. He can be reached at (613) 951-3325 or perspectives@statcan.gc.ca.
You need to use the free Adobe Reader to view PDF documents. To view (open) these files, simply click on the link. To download (save) them, right-click on the link. Note that if you are using Internet Explorer or AOL, PDF documents sometimes do not open properly. See Troubleshooting PDFs. PDF documents may not be accessible by some devices. For more information, visit the Adobe website or contact us for assistance.
|