‘A very good sign’: more New Brunswickers are working and fewer are looking for jobs

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FREDERICTON, N.B. — By John Chilibeck

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Daily Gleaner

For people watching the job market, New Brunswick’s labour force data shows remarkable improvement over the last 10 years.

Among the population’s core working group, from the ages of 25 to 54, the unemployment rate dropped nearly in half, from 9.2 per cent in December 2013 to 5.3 per cent in December 2023, according to the latest Statistics Canada tables published in its labour force survey earlier this month.

And the number of employed had a big jump, much bigger than the population growth in that age range. While the total population in that core age group grew by 2,000 over the decade, New Brunswick went from 237,000 to 249,000 of them working — an increase of 12,000.

“The unemployment rate has gone way down,” said Andrew Fields, an analyst with the national statistical agency. “That’s a big change. More people are finding work and fewer people are searching for work. This is a very good sign.”

Another telling sign: the participation rate — the number of people who are working or have not given up looking for work — has remained exactly the same in the core age group between December 2013 and December 2023, at 88 per cent. Fields said sometimes a low unemployment rate hides the fact that many people just aren’t looking for work and remain uncounted. Not so in New Brunswick.

The biggest increase in workers is among women, whose participation rate in the workforce over the period climbed from 77 to 82 per cent, a five-point jump that mirrors what’s happened across Canada since the 1990s. New Brunswick men, by contrast, saw their participation rate jump from closer to 83 to 84 per cent, only a one-point hop.

While New Brunswick’s overall unemployment rate showed a small increase from November to December, inching up from 6.4 to 6.6 per cent, Fields said this figure includes anyone in the labour force from age 15 and up.

By contrast, the unemployment rate in the core age group — when someone is likely finished college or university and before they retire — showed a slight improvement from 5.8 per cent in November to 5.3 per cent in December.

Over the decade, the figure has gone up and down, especially during the early stages of the pandemic. As the economy floundered, it hit 12.6 per cent among the key cohort in April 2020 as scores were forced to stay in their homes to avoid spreading COVID-19.

But as vaccines became the norm and the world opened up again, New Brunswick’s unemployment rate improved. It got as low as 3.8 per cent in March of 2023 for the core working age group.

65 plus workers

All of this is evidence, says David Campbell, that New Brunswick needs to convince the youngest and oldest to do their part. The labour market remains tight and many businesses, particularly in the service industry, are struggling to find workers at the right price.

“The statistics show that what’s been happening over the last few years has been working, but of course employment growth in New Brunswick has been a fraction of what it’s been across the country over the same period,” said the president of Jupia Consultants in Moncton. “I’d love to see higher labour force participation among the 65 plus. We have one of the lowest, if not the lowest, labour market participation rates for people 65 or older in the country. It’s swelling in terms of its ranks, and I’d like to see more older people coming into the workforce on their own terms.”

“I’d love to see higher labour force participation among the 65 plus. We have one of the lowest, if not the lowest, labour market participation rates for people 65 or older in the country.”
— David Campbell

He said that would mean more part-time and seasonal work, and more flexible hours.

“I’m not saying they should all work 40 hours a week, 50 weeks a year, but I’d love to see all that talent sitting on the sidelines now come back into the labour force in a significant way. If you look at P.E.I. and the western provinces, the participation rate among older folks is much higher than it is here.”

Campbell says people tend to retire early in New Brunswick because the cost of living is still relatively low, especially for people who bought homes when they were more affordable and have long paid off their mortgages.

“The fact that someone can retire and essentially live on Old Age Pension and the Canada Pension Plan and whatever little bit that’s been saved around is a good thing, not a bad thing, for New Brunswickers. So we need to incentivize them to come back to work.”

Employers, he said, need to more flexible by offering better working conditions, benefits and re-training.

“You can’t expect a guy who harvested logs all his life in the forest industry to suddenly work as a tour operator. There are some skills upgrading required.”

He also wants younger people to stay in the workforce while they’re in school. Their participation rate remains low.

“Parents say they are willing to support their children financially, but on the other side we have employers saying they are getting employees who are 22 years old with absolutely no work experience. That’s a real loss. Parents should encourage their 15-, 16-, and 17-year-olds to work part-time.”