Labour force

According to Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey (LFS), the North Central region’s employment rate1 for the working age population of 15 years and older was 65.4% in 2010 and the participation rate2 was 69.7%.  By comparison, Alberta’s employment and participation rates were higher at 68.1% and 72.9%, respectively.  The region’s unemployment rate was 6.2% in 2010, the same rate as in the previous year.  This rate is lower than the provincial average of 6.5% for 2010. 

Timely labour force estimates from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) are generally not reliable for small areas such as this region3.  Statistics Canada therefore suggests to only use the rates, such as unemployment rate and participation rate, from the LFS rather than the levels, such as total employment and working age population.  As a result, Census estimates are used for the following discussions on employment level estimates.

Between 2001 and 2006, the number of people employed in Alberta grew by 14.7% or by 239,800.  Over the same period, employment in the North Central region grew by an estimated 900 or 4.5%.  In 2006, the North Central Region made up 1.2% of Alberta’s working age population (15+ years), and the region’s increase in employment between 2001 and 2006 accounted for 0.4% of all new jobs created in Alberta over that period. 

According to the 2006 census, the level of educational attainment is lower for this region than for Alberta. For the working aged population of between 25 and 64 years, 30.3% had a post-secondary degree or diploma, compared with 48.1% for all of Alberta.  However, the region does have a larger share holding a trades certificate: 17.6% in the region vs. 12.4% in Alberta.  23.1% of the region’s working age population did not finish high school, higher than the Alberta average of 15.4%.

Employment Insurance Beneficiaries

In 2010, 620 people received regular Employment Insurance (EI) benefits4 in the North Central region, a 3% decrease from the 2009 total of 640 5.  Over the same period, the number of EI recipients fell by 9% in Alberta.  As a result, the region’s share of Alberta EI recipients rose slightly to 1.3%.  Between February 2010 and February 2011, the number of regular beneficiaries fell by an estimated 14% in the region.

The total number of income beneficiaries6 with both regular and special benefits, such as for sickness or parental leave, fell at a lower rate of 2% between 2009 and 2010 as all of the decrease in income beneficiaries was the result of the decrease in the number of regular beneficiaries, rather than those receiving special benefits.

Note: although this measure provides a useful gauge of unemployment it is an imperfect measure, as it excludes self-employed workers and individuals who were unemployed for more than 12 months.  At the Canadian level, the EI beneficiaries-to-unemployed ratio was fairly stable over time prior to the recession at between 40% and 45%. In Alberta, the ratio fell gradually during the economic boom years from more than 40% in 1996 to less than 25% in 2007 and the first nine months of 2008.  The ratio climbed to more than 40% in 2009 and was 36% in 2010.

Employment by Industry

In 2006, according to Statistics Canada’s census data, the services-producing sector in the North Central Region accounted for about 59% of the total number employed.  By comparison, the service sector accounted for 73% of Alberta’s employment.

The Agriculture and Forestry industry employed the largest number of individuals.  This industry accounted for 17% of the region’s employment, compared with the industry’s 4% share at the provincial level.  The region has a sizeable logging sub-sector, as well as a large animal and crop farming sub-sector.  The North Central Region accounted for 1.1% of total Alberta employment, but for 6.4% of Alberta employment in Agriculture and Forestry. The region’s second largest industry is the Retail Trade sector.

Between 2001 and 2006, the Mining and Oil and Gas industry had the largest employment gain (up 730), mainly because of increased drilling activity.  In the region’s second largest industry, Retail Trade, employment decreased by about 100.

Although estimates from the Labour Force Survey are not very reliable7 for the small regions, it is clear from the survey’s results that the Mining and Oil and Gas, Construction, Retail Trade, Health Care and Social Assistance, and Education sectors have increased their employment levels between 2006 and 2009.



1 The employment rate measures the proportion of the adult population that is employed. Employment Rate = (Employed / Population 15+)*100. High labour utilization traditionally accompanies strong economic activity.
2 The participation rate measures the proportion of the adult population that is in the labour force. Participation Rate = (Labour Force / Population 15+)*100. High labour participation is an effective indicator of the level of engagement among the working age population and traditionally accompanies strong economic activity.
3 Due to sample size problems and there not being any population control totals for non-standard geographies 
4 The number of beneficiaries receiving regular benefits excludes claimants receiving training, job creation and self-employment benefits as well as other employment and support measures benefits.
5 Some of this increase was the result of Canada’s Economic Action Plan providing beneficiaries with five extra weeks of regular EI benefits in 2009 and 2010.
6 The number of beneficiaries receiving total income benefits includes both the beneficiaries receiving regular benefits and those receiving special benefits, such as for training, job creation, sickness, parental. 
 7 Due to sample size problems and there not being any population control totals for non-standard geographies


 

Date Updated:
RDP-2486