Alberta and Saskatchewan were the best performing labour markets in Canada between 2005 and 2009, while Eastern Canada lagged well behind its western Canadian counterparts, according to a study released Thursday by a Canadian public policy think-tank.
Alberta topped all provinces and American states in the ranking reported in Measuring Labour Markets in Canada and the United States: 2010 Edition, published by the Vancouver-based Fraser Institute. The province recorded the highest level of employment growth over the five year span, along with low durations of unemployment.
Saskatchewan recorded the second-best performing labour market in Canada and third overall in North America, an improvement from its eighth place ranking in the 2009 report.
British Columbia ranked third in Canada, and sixth in North America, with Manitoba ranking fourth in Canada and eighth overall. Both provinces moved up in the latest report, from ninth and 21st in North America, respectively.
"There's a clear delineation in the labour market performance of the western provinces compared to Eastern Canada," said Niels Veldhuis, Fraser Institute vice-president of Canadian policy research and co-author of the study.
New Brunswick had the highest ranking of the remaining provinces, 27th overall, followed by Ontario at 31st, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, tied at 39th; Quebec at 43rd, and Newfoundland and Labrador last at 49th.
"Ontario and Quebec's labour market performance continues to be very poor, underscoring the need for labour policy reforms," Veldhuis said.
Alaska was the top ranked American state, second overall behind only Alberta.
The report notes that while the recession negatively affected labour market performance in both Canada and the U.S., the deterioration in the U.S. was more severe.
The study assesses the performance of labour markets based on five indicators: total employment growth, private sector employment growth, unemployment rates, duration of unemployment, and labour productivity.
Alberta and Saskatchewan were the best performing labour markets in Canada between 2005 and 2009, while Eastern Canada lagged well behind its western Canadian counterparts, according to a study released Thursday by a Canadian public policy think-tank.
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