The local unemployment rate ticked up again slightly in August.
According to the Four County Labour Market Planning Board, the unemployment rate in the Stratford-Bruce Peninsula Economic Region went up 0.9 percentage points to land at 3.7 per cent last month.
That represents the largest percentage increase of all regions in Ontario, although the region’s unemployment rate remains the lowest in the province. Meanwhile, the provincial unemployment rate increased by 0.5 percentage points to 7.6 per cent, both unadjusted for seasonality.
The region’s overall population increased by 400 in August, whereas the labour force size increased significantly by 3,300, resulting in the size of population not participating in the labour force to decrease by 2,800. This drove the participation rate up by 1.1 percentage points to 62.5 per cent.
The region experienced an increase of approximately 1,600 in total employment size, as a result of 200 full-time employment gains and 1,500 part-time employment gains.
“Although we continue to be one of the lowest unemployment rates in the provinces, it is encouraging to see another increase in participation rates,” said Dana Soucie, Executive Director for the Four County Labour Market Planning Board. “We continue to watch for sector trends and will be monitoring these changes over time.”
Current job postings for the Bruce, Grey, Huron, Perth region have increased overtime since the pandemic and can be found at www.connect2JOBS.ca. The current number of job postings is 1,800.
