​January unemployment rate increases to 4.9 per cent

Employment in the Stratford-Bruce Peninsula economic region increased by 200 (0.1 per cent) in January, with gains in part-time employment (4.8%; 1,800) partially offset by losses in full-time employment (1.1%; 1,600).

In January, the unemployment rate in the region increased by 0.9 percentage points to 4.9 per cent. Meanwhile, the provincial unemployment rate increased 0.1 percentage points this month to 7.1 per cent, both unadjusted for seasonality.

That's the word from the Four County Labour Market Planning Board.

Employment in the region increased in the goods-producing sector (plus 2.5 per cent, 1,700), as well as in the services-producing sector (plus 1.7 per cent; 1,900).

In January, the region’s overall population, aged 15-plus, increased by 200; whereas, the labour force size increased by 2,000 people, resulting in the number of people not in the labour force in the region to decrease by 1,800. This increased the region’s participation rate by 0.7 percentage points to 63.5 per cent.

The goods-producing sector saw a decrease in overall employment numbers in January (1,700, 2.5 per cent), with losses in agriculture (-900, -7.5 per cent), utilities (-500, -3.9 per cent), and construction (-400, -1.6 per cent).

On the other hand, manufacturing experienced an employment increase (+500, +three per cent).

Overall employment in the services-producing sector saw an increase of 1.7 per cent (+1,900 people) in January. Accommodation and food services experienced the largest percentage growth (+800, +11.8 per cent) in employment, followed by finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing (+400, +7.8 per cent), transportation and warehousing (+200, +6.5 per cent), educational services (+500, +5.7 per cent), and wholesale and retail trade (+1,200, +5.3 per cent).

On the other hand, professional, scientific and technical services experienced the biggest percentage decrease in employment (-1,500, -12.8 per cent), followed by information, culture and recreation (-400, -6.8 per cent) and other services (except public administration (-100, -0.9 per cent).

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 number of job postings currently exceeds 1,400.