Labour Force Survey Highlights December 2009

January 15 2010

  • In December 2009, the unemployment rate in the tourism sector was 7.3%. While this was 1.1% higher than the rate seen in December 2008, the year-over-year increase in the tourism unemployment rate was smaller than the increase seen in the total economy.
  • In Canada, employment levels remained unchanged in December, keeping the unemployment rate at 8.5%. Overall, employment in the Canadian economy has stabilized, however, it remains 1.9% below the rate recorded in December 2008.
  • Within the tourism industry groups, the accommodations labour force saw the highest level of unemployment in December (11.3%); however this was slightly less than the unemployment rate recorded one year earlier.
  • The monthly unemployment rate within the recreation & entertainment industry group was 10.2%, while the unemployment rate in foodand beverage services was 6.5%. The level of unemployment reported for the travel services industry group was 6.3%, while the unemployment rate in the transportation industry group was 2.4%.
  • Even though the overall economy experienced significant job losses in the area of Transportation and Warehousing, industries within this group that are considered part of the tourism sector didn’t fare as poorly. Compared to December 2008, the unemployment rate in the transportation industry group rose at a similar rate to the total tourism sector (+1.2%), with the largest increase reported for car rental businesses.
  • On a regional basis, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, BC and Quebec had tourism unemployment rates lower than the sector overall. The higher tourism unemployment rates seen in the Atlantic provinces were primarily due to seasonal job losses in recreational parks and heritage institutions.

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