CTHRC News > 2010 > Labour Force Survey Highlights January 2010
Labour Force Survey Highlights January 2010
February 17 2010
In January 2010, the unemployment rate in the tourism sector labour force was 7.5%. This was similar to the rate seen in January 2009 (7.7%), and represents a smaller fluctuation than that seen in the total economy.
In the overall Canadian labour force, more part-time employment contributed to a (seasonally adjusted) unemployment rate of 8.3% for the month. Even though this represents the fourth employment gain in six months, overall employment remains 280,000 below the level recorded in October 2008.
Within the tourism industry groups, the accommodations labour force saw the highest level of unemployment in January (10.5%); however this was slightly less than the unemployment rate recorded one year earlier.
The monthly unemployment rate within the travel services industry group was 3.2%, about half of the rate recorded a year ago (6.0%).
Other industry groups also saw reduced unemployment rates compared to January 2009. The level of unemployment reported for the recreation & entertainment industry group was 8.7% (-0.7%), while the unemployment rate in the transportation industry group was 2.7% (-0.4). The unemployment rate in food and beverage services remained unchanged at 7.9%.
On a regional basis, most provinces had tourism unemployment rates lower than the sector overall. The higher tourism unemployment rates seen in the Atlantic provinces are primarily due to job losses in seasonal accommodations as well as recreation and entertainment industries.
