Labour market seasonality in Canada

Trends in Labour Market Seasonality in Canada This section of the paper uses data from the Labour Force Survey conducted by Statistics Canada to quantify seasonal fluctuations in employment and unemployment in Canada and the provinces for the 1976-2003 period, and to compare Canadian trends with those in the United States and OECD countries. [...] Hence the higher the ratio between the MSV for employment and the MSV for unemployment, the higher the proportion of voluntary seasonally employed in total seasonal employment. [...] In 2003, the seasonality of output, unemployment, and the unemployment rate were similar in Canada and the United States, but the seasonality of both employment and the labour force were three to four times higher in Canada than in the United States. [...] Over the 1976-2003 period the seasonality of employment and the labour force fell much more in the United States than in Canada, but the seasonality of output, unemployment, and the unemployment rate fell more in Canada. [...] It is also interesting to note that consistent with the pattern observed in Canada, the seasonality of unemployment and the unemployment rate either rose or remained unchanged in the United States after 1996, in contrast to the steady downward trend in seasonality in output, employment and the labour force in both countries.