The regional unemployment rate in the area that includes Bruce, Grey, Huron and Perth counties fell to 6.4 per cent in October.
However, part-time positions led the net job gains while thousands of full-time jobs were lost.
The Four County Labour Market Planning Board says more the number of full-time positions in the Stratford-Bruce Peninsula economic region decreased by 3,900 last month, which was offset by an increase in 4,200 part-time jobs.
The greatest job gains came in the construction (+1,900), wholesale/retail trade (+1,800) and agriculture (+800) sectors.
Those gains were off-set by losses in the accommodation and food services, finance, insurance and real estate sectors.
Meantime, according to Statistics Canada, the most current underutilization rate for Stratford-Bruce Peninsula is 12.1 per cent as of September — which remains higher than 10.1 per cent from the same month in 2019.
The underutilization rate provides a more complete picture of the employment situation for the area, as it also considers those who wanted a job but didn’t look for one, and those who remained employed but lost most of their hours.
Nationally, the jobless rate fell slightly to 8.9 per cent last month, with more than 84,000 positions created across the country.