October 2009 Labour Force Survey Highlights

November 10 2009

In October 2009, the unemployment rate in the tourism sector was 6.5%. This was less than the proportion reported for the economy overall (8.6%), but was 0.8% higher than the rate seen in October 2008.
Due primarily to a decline in part-time jobs, overall employment in Canada decreased by 43,000 jobs in October. Since October 2008, Canadian employment has declined by 400,000 jobs; however, the bulk of this loss occurred between October 2008 and March 2009.
Within the tourism industry groups, the accommodations labour force saw the highest level of unemployment in October (11.1%). This was mainly due to job losses in the seasonal RV Parks and Recreation Camps industry.
The monthly unemployment rate within the food and beverage industry group was 7.1%, while the recreation & entertainment industry group had a 6.9% unemployment rate. No significant level of unemployment was reported for travel services in Canada, and the unemployment rate in the transportation industry group was just 2.1%.
On a regional basis, seven out of ten provinces had a tourism unemployment rate lower than the total tourism sector. The higher rates in Nova Scotia (10.6%), Newfoundland (13.5%), and Prince Edward Island (13.8%) were primarily due to seasonal job losses in accommodations.

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