Further to my earlier post on the "own goal" scored by the Fraser Institute report on North American labour markets, the Table below shows the rankings of the Canadian provinces - out of 60 states and provinces - for (1) labour market performance, 2007-11 and (2) the unionization rate. (I have reversed the Fraser ranking for the latter indicator so that a rank of 1 rather than 60 is given to the jurisdiction with the highest unionization rate.)
The provinces all score relatively well in terms of labour market performance, with 4 in the top 10, and only Nova Scotia not in the top 20. (This indicator is based on job creation, unemployment and productivity growth.)
Provinces make up 9 of the top 10 jurisdictions by unionization. (New York and Alaska have higher unionization rates than Alberta which ranks 12 in North America.)
Obviously a lot of factors are at play in terms of job creation- but, if the data show anything, it is that high unionization is associated with better rather than worse labour market performance.
| Ranking of Canadian Provinces (Out of 60) | ||||
| Labour Market | Unionization Rate | |||
| Performance | ||||
| Alberta | 1 | 12 | ||
| Saskatchewan | 2 | 4 | ||
| Manitoba | 5 | 3 | ||
| BC | 7 | 6 | ||
| Quebec | 11 | 1 | ||
| Newfoundland | 13 | 2 | ||
| Ontario | 16 | 9 | ||
| PEI | 19 | 5 | ||
| New Brunswick | 21 | 8 | ||
| Nova Scotia | 21 | 7 |
