Labour Market Bulletin Thunder Bay

Labour Market Bulletin, Fourth Quarter 2005
An Analysis of the Thunder Bay Area Labour Market
Service Canada

An overview of the Thunder Bay Area Labour Market

The Thunder Bay and Northwest labour markets continued to weaken as the region suffered losses in the pulp and paper industry. Once again, both labour forces declined in the fourth quarter with significant losses in employment. Participation rates remain notably below the Ontario average.

Adding to the city's woes was the announcement that Cascades Fine Papers would completely shut down operations at its Thunder Bay mill early in 2006. The company had announced in August that it was shutting down one of its machines. The labour force can be expected to continue to shrink as people leave the area in search of work.

Both advertised opportunities and Employment Insurance (EI) claim load followed an established seasonal trend as both declined in the fourth quarter.

There does not appear to be any hope of a resolution to the forestry crisis in the immediate future. The federal and provincial aid packages for the forestry industry did not provide any relief with respect to the major issues currently having a negative impact on the pulp and paper mills in the region: high energy costs, wood fibre availability and the stronger Canadian dollar. .

In the Labour Force Survey:

• Continuing weakness in Thunder Bay
  Smaller labour force leads to lower unemployment rate
• Conditions weaker in the Northwest
  Employment falls nine percent year over year

Employment by Industry:

• Decline in goods sector year over year in Thunder Bay
  Losses mount in manufacturing 
• Declines in goods-producing sector in Northwest
  Employment in the sector hits record low

Lower EI claim load in fourth quarter
Rise in male claimants can't offset drop in female claimants

Fourth quarter can't maintain third quarter's strength
Advertised opportunities still stronger year over year.

The complete Labour Market Bulletin, including these Highlights, is available in Adobe Acrobat PDF format, print version (size: 184 kb)

To obtain this Labour Market Bulletin in .html format, please use the Contact Us button at the top of this page. In your email subject line, please refer to the Labour Market Bulletin and the publication date: (e.g. Thunder Bay - 4th Quarter 2005)