Harsh winter weather and the impending threat of tariffs from both the U.S. and China have taken a toll on the labour market. In February, just 1,100 jobs were added to the Canadian economy, falling well below economists’ predictions and the 76,000 jobs added in January. But while employment remained stagnant across most of the country, Nova Scotia was hit hard with a loss of 4,300 jobs increasing the unemployment rate by 0.7 percentage points.
The unemployment rate in the province now sits at 6.6 per cent, which is still consistent with the rest of the country. Across provinces, the unemployment rate in February was lowest in Quebec at 5.3 per cent, while it was highest in Newfoundland and Labrador at 10.5 per cent.
In Nova Scotia, men 25 year old and up were the hardest hit by job losses. The unemployment rate for this demographic increased 1.4 per cent since January. The unemployment rate for women of the same age increased 0.7 per cent over the same time frame. Meanwhile the unemployment rate for those of any gender between the ages of 15 and 24 decreased from 13 per cent in January to 11.9 per cent in February.
Nova Scotia’s biggest employers are in the service industries, some of which faced the biggest job losses nationwide. Some of the biggest hit industries were manufacturing (4.8 per cent decrease), utilities (7.8 per cent decrease), and transportation and warehousing (23 per cent decrease).
All of the job losses in the province were in part-time work.
The Canadian economy has been functioning in a quasi limbo in light of impending tariffs from the U.S.
Brendon Bernard, senior economist at job site Indeed, said in an interview that stability in the unemployment rate is a clear sign that Canadian employers were not turning to layoffs en masse ahead of looming tariffs from the United States.
“There’s potential trouble ahead for the job market, but that’s not what we saw in February,” he said.
TD Bank director of economics James Orlando said in a note to clients Friday that the harsh winter weather was the “likely culprit” for Canada’s weak labour market results in February, but added that fears of the impending tariffs may have also started to bleed into the data.
“Luckily, the Canadian labour market came into the current tariff crisis on solid footing, which is important given the significant headwinds the economy is facing,” he said.
The good news for Nova Scotia is that it is likely the province will experience the smallest impacts from tariffs from the neighbours to the south, according to a report from the Conference Board of Canada.
The research states that the small but mighty province is the best set up to defend American tariffs because of its “broadly favourable industry mix.” It also sends the lowest proportion of its exports to the U.S. of all the provinces.
“But, more importantly, the province’s economy has limited dependence on international exports,” it reads. Services make up the largest proportion of the province’s GDP: 81 per cent. International goods exports account for just 11 per cent.
The biggest uncertainty is what will happen to the fishing industry, which heavily relies on American processors.
-With files from the Canadian Press
