Question

5. The accompanying table provides data on the size of the labour force and the number of unemployed work- ers for the provinces and territories of Canada. Labour force Unemployed (thousands) (thousands) May 2016 May 2017 May 2016 May 2017 2444.9 2484.2 194.5 193.1 2520.8 2612.9 153.4 146.3 675.7 678.6 40.0 35.9 387.7 384.8 38.5 32.4 Province/ Territory Alberta British Columbia Manitoba New Brunswick Newfoundland and Labrador Nova Scotia Ontario Prince Edward Island Quebec Saskatchewan 270.0 264.9 31.9 39.2 488.6 485.2 7491.8 40.0 490.9 38.5 489.7 7576.5 80.0 83.3 8.4 8.3 4433.2 604.7 4472.2 608.6 311.6 36.1 267.2 38.3 Data from: Statistics Canada. a. Calculate the number of workers employed in each province and territory in May 2016 and in May 2017. Use your answer to calculate the change in the total number of workers employed between May 2016 and May 2017 b. For each province and territory, calculate the growth in the labour force from May 2016 to May 2017 c. Compute the unemployment rate in each province and territory in May 2016 and May 2017 d. From May 2016 to May 2017, which provinces or ter- ritories experienced a fall in their unemployment rates? Do you think this fall was caused by a net gain in the number of jobs or by a large fall in the number of people seeking jobs? Explain.

Answer 1

a.)

Province Labour Force Unemployed Employed Change in total number of people employed in Growth Rate May 16-17 Unemploy-ment Rate May-16 194.5 153.4 40.7 99.2 40 Alberta British Columbia Manitoba New Brunswick Newfoundland and Labrador Nova Scotia Ontario Prince Edward Island Quebec Saskatchewan May-16 2444.9 2520.8 675.7 387.7 270 485.2 7491.8 May-17 2484.2 2612.9 678.6 384.8 264.9 488.6 7576.5 83.3 4472.2 608.6 38.5 31.9 40 490.9 8.4 311.6 36.1 May-17 193.1 146.3 35.9 32.4 39.2 38.5 489.7 8.3 267.2 38.3 May-16 2250.4 2367.4 635.7 349.2 238.1 445.2 7000.9 71.6 4121.6 568.6 May-17 2291.1 2466.6 642.7 352.4 225.7 450.1 7086.8 75 4205 570.3 3.2 -12.4 4.9 85.9 3.4 83.4 1.6% 3.7% 0.4% -0.7% -1.9% 0.7% 1.1% 4.1% 0.9% 0.6% May-16 8.0% 6.1% 5.9% 9.9% 11.8% 8.2% 6.6% 10.5% 7.0% 6.0% May-17 7.8% 5.6% 5.3% 8.4% 14.8% 7.9% 6.5% 10.0% 6.0% 6.3% 80 4433.2 604.7 1.7

Employed = Labor Force - Unemployment

Change In Number Of People Employed = Employed'17 - Employed'16

b.)

(Labour Force'17 - Labour Force'16)/Labour Force'16(%)

c.)

Unemployment Rate = No. Unemployed/Labour Force (%)

d.)

All provinces and territories apart from Newfoundland and Saskatchewan have experienced a drop in the rate of unemployment from May 2016 to May 2017. All Territories apart from Newfoundland and New Brunswick have experienced positive growth in the labour force. A drop in the unemployment rate of New Brunswick is due to more people being employed. In Newfoundland and Labrador, the labour force decreased and the level of unemployment increased, whereas in New Brunswick the labour force decreased and the employment rate increased. Therefore New Brunswick is the only province in which a combination of a rising employment rate and a falling labour force took place. All other provinces that experienced a fall in the unemployment rate was purely because of positive net gains in people employed, and Newfoundland and Labrador along with Saskatchewan (net loss in the number of jobs) are the only provinces with rising unemployment rates