The unemployment rate for the Stratford-to-Bruce Peninsula economic region inched up a little in September.
It moved from 3.4% to 3.8%, while the unemployment rate for the province dropped slightly from 6.3% to 6.0%.
Employment in the local economic region increased by 5,000 in September, with the majority of the gains in full-time employment.
Favourable employment news included the hiring of at least a dozen employees for Delmar Foods in St. Marys. The condiment manufacturer is opening a facility at the site of the former Kraft Heinz factory in St. Marys. Future hiring is expected.
Construction of a new Hanover Veterinary Hospital was also announced. The expansion is expected to create future job opportunities when completed in spring 2018.
Offsetting those developments was the elimination of over a dozen full-time salaried positions at Wescast Industries in Wingham.