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Labour Market Monitor
Saint John - St. Stephen

August 2011

This is an overview of the Saint John - St. Stephen area which includes Charlotte, St. John, and Kings Counties. The Labour Market Monitor is a monthly report focusing on labour market information produced by a local Labour Market Information Analyst.

For further information, contact:
anne.hickey@servicecanada.gc.ca

Labour Force Trends

In August 2011, the labour market improved in both the Saint John – St. Stephen region and in the Saint John CMA. Employment increased by 2,600 to 89,500 in the Saint John – St. Stephen region and by 3,900 to 66,900 in the Saint John CMA. The employment rate was up by 1.5 points to 62.1% in the Saint John – St. Stephen region, and by 3.3 points to 63.0% in the Saint John CMA. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate decreased by 1.2 points to 7.3% in the Saint John – St. Stephen region and by 2.5 points to 6.3% in the Saint John CMA.

For more information, please visit the Statistics Canada Web site.

Labour Market News by Industry

Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting

New Brunswick – The Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada is providing $57M in funding to repair and maintain small craft harbours across Canada. Four communities in the area will benefit from the funding: Beaver Harbour, Blacks Harbour, Ingall's Head and Seal Cove.

New Brunswick will receive $9.7M for dredging, repair and maintenance projects at 14 commercial fishing harbours in the province. This funding is in addition to the $71.6M already committed by the Government of Canada last March to repair storm damaged fishing harbours in Atlantic Canada, Quebec and Manitoba. Telegraph Journal – August 8

St Andrews – An official opening ceremony was held for the Fundy Discovery Aquarium at the Huntsman Marine Science Centre in St. Andrews. The new $8M aquarium includes a range of Fundy marine life, a two-storey tidal display, a conference and lecture centre with live video-conference capabilities, meetings rooms, a laboratory and gift shop. The Huntsman Marine Science Centre in St. Andrews will open its doors to the public on September 1, 2011. Telegraph Journal – August 12

Grand Manan – The President of the Grand Manan's Fishermen's Association stated that about a third of the island's lobster boats (125 boats) are short on crew members. A typical lobster fishing crew usually consists of three people. The labour shortage has gradually become worse over the years. The fall lobster season begins on November 8, 2011. Telegraph Journal August 31

Construction

Sussex – The Maxim 2000 Inc. a Saint John building firm was awarded approximately $7.5M to build a recreational facility in Sussex. The Fundy Civic Centre facility will have an indoor swimming pool, walking track and gym. Construction has begun and is on schedule. The Civic Centre is expected to open early next summer. Telegraph Journal – August 3

St Stephen – The federal, provincial and local governments, along with a community campaign, contributed over $11M in the construction of the Garcelon Civic Centre. St. Stephen will issue five calls for proposals by the end of August to start the project. The proposals include the demolition of the commercial building and the design and construction of the new structure. Demolition is expected to begin in September, with the construction expected to end in September 2012. Telegraph Journal – August 20

Educational Services

Saint John – The New Brunswick Information Technology Council wants to create an executive MBA program focused on technology and innovation. The new program will focus on three components:

  • understanding how business works in general
  • looking at the opportunities that technologies can bring to business, and
  • case work on businesses that have been successful implementing technology.

The program will take one to two years to complete and will be delivered virtually. Telegraph Journal – August 26

Health Care

New Brunswick – The President of the New Brunswick Medical Society announced that the interprovincial transfer agreement that allows doctors to move more freely across the country has led to a sharp increase in the number of doctors leaving the province. He believes that the province needs to concentrate on strengthening incentives and consider removing the billing number restrictions. According to the Registrar of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New Brunswick, the number of doctors leaving the province has gone from an average of 40 physicians to an estimated 60 last year, which is an increase of approximately 50%. Telegraph Journal – August 4

New Brunswick – The Nurses Association of New Brunswick will start a bridging program for foreign trained nurses who want to practice in the province. The program will allow foreign trained nurses to prove their competencies in a series of written, oral or simulated clinical setting tests.

While the nurses' shortage in New Brunswick is not as severe as in other parts of the country, the labour force is aging. The average age of a New Brunswick registered nurse is 45 years old. In 2008, New Brunswick had 115 internationally educated nurses (1.5% of the total workforce). Telegraph Journal – August 10

Rothesay – The Rothesay Laser Clinic has opened a new location at 48 Clark Road with five staff. The clinic is a medial aesthetic for hair removal and cosmetic skin enhancement. Telegraph Journal – August 16

Information and Cultural Industries

New Brunswick – According to the New Brunswick Information Technology Council, the information and communications technology sector is growing at double the rate of the rest of the Canadian economy. The fast growth means many jobs are going unfilled in the sector. In uptown Saint John, there are approximately 30 ICT companies. These employers are looking for business analysts, project managers, and sales people. Telegraph Journal – August 27

Retail Trade

Hampton – Ears 4 You, a full service hearing centre, has opened its second location at 582 Main Street in Hampton. Both sites share a staff of five and offer hearing tests and hearing aid services. Telegraph Journal – August 9

Saint John – A new store, Pseudio opened at East Point Shopping Centre with 10 employees. Telegraph Journal – August 17

Saint John – Maple Leaf Queen's Buffett opened recently in East Saint John Parkway Mall. The restaurant has approximately 50 full and part-time employees. Telegraph Journal – August 17

Note: In preparing this bulletin, Service Canada has taken care to provide clients with labour market information from reliable sources that are timely and accurate at the time of publication. Since labour market conditions are dynamic, some of the information presented here may have changed since the bulletin was published. Readers are encouraged to also refer to other sources for additional information on the local economy and labour market. Information contained in this bulletin does not necessarily reflect official policies of Service Canada

Prepared by: Labour Market Information Services, Service Canada, Atlantic Region

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Date Modified:
2011-10-26