The unemployment rate for the Stratford-Bruce Peninsula Economic Region increased by 1.6 percentage points to 4.6% in January.
At the same time, the provincial unemployment rate increased by 0.3 percentage points to 6.1%, both unadjusted for seasonality.
According to the Four County Labour Market Planning Board, overall net employment in the region decreased by 5,600 including 5,400 full-time losses. This full-time loss was the largest since the onset of the pandemic.
The number of Goods-producing sector employees decreased by a net 600. The main driving force came from losses in Utilities (-1,000) and Manufacturing (-700). Employment in the Services-producing sector also decreased by a net of 5,100. The most losses came from Wholesale and retail trade (-1,900) and Health care and social assistance (-1,200). Though Professional, scientific and technical services experienced increases in employment (+1,500), they could not offset the losses, which resulted in net losses of 5,100.
Gemma Mendez-Smith, Executive Director of the Four County Labour Market Planning Board, said as the labour force continues to shrink it is imperative to build strong attraction and retention strategies. She pointed out that the size of the labour force is currently at its lowest since the onset of the pandemic.
Current job postings for the Bruce, Grey, Huron, Perth region have increased over time since the pandemic and can be found at: www.connect2JOBS.ca. The current number of job postings exceeds 2,600.