Every month, we get our truest update on the status of the Prosperity Plan (although there were no employment growth targets in the plan per se).
Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey for June 2005 provides us with the following insight into the success of the NB economy over the past six years:
- From June 1999 to June 2005, total employment in New Brunswick grew 5.4% – half the national rate.
- Only New Brunswick and Ontario have more people unemployed in June 2005 compared to June 1999.
- New Brunswick’s participation rate (working age people in the workforce) is the second lowest in Canada.
- Only PEI and Newfoundland have a higher unemployment rate than New Brunswick.
- Of the 1.5 million new jobs in Canada (increase in employment) since June 1999, New Brunswick’s economy only created 1.2% of them – and our population is 2.5% of the Canadian total.
- New Brunswick’s total employment decreased by 6,000 people in June, with just over half of the decline occurring among youths.
Now, if you read my blog about this time each month, you will know that I don’t put much stock in the month-to-month changes in the labour force as it can be somewhat fickle – particularly in a seasonal workforce. However, the trend over time is not good – in fact you might say it’s bad. The only two provinces fairing worse than NB for job growth are Manitoba and Saskatchewan – and they really don’t need the growth – at least for now. Manitoba is only a marginal ‘have not’ province and Saskatchewan is actually a ‘have’ province. Down the road the lack of job growth and the decline in their agriculture industries will hit them…
– but New Brunswick’s crisis is now.
Have a nice weekend 🙂
PS – Wonder how Al’ll cover this tomorrow. Should be interesting. Either he will ignore it (many months the T&T does – apparently when there is more pressing news) or he will have his chief propagandist, LeBreton, find the silver lining. But, who knows, if someone pee-ed in his Wheaties, he may dump on the government a bit. Sorry about the USism – I lived down south for six years and at the time this saying about the Wheaties was popular.