The unemployment rate in the region that includes Bruce and Grey counties fell in October, but the overall number of people working was unchanged due to a drop in the size of the labour force.
The Four County Labour Planning Board says the jobless rate for the Stratford-Bruce Peninsula region hit three per cent last month, compared to 3.6 per cent in September.
It’s the lowest unemployment rate the region has registered in 2021. However, net employment in the region was unchanged at 162,200. Four County Labour Market Planning Board Executive Director Gemma Mendez-Smith says the labour force shrunk by 1,000 workers in October and September.
“With such a low unemployment rate, growing our workforce to fill job vacancies and meet employers’ worker needs will be top priority,” Mendez-Smith says.
According to the planning board, the regional economy actually shaved 400 full-time positions in October, offset partially by 300 new part-time jobs.
The construction (+2,200) and health care/social assistance (+1,800) sectors led the job gains. The greatest job losses came in the accommodation and food services (-2,100), professional, scientific and technical services (-1,200) and agriculture (-1,000) industries.
Ontario’s provincial unemployment rate for the month of October fell to 7.4 per cent. Nationally, it was down to 6.7 per cent. However, Statistics Canada says the jobless rate across the country would have been 8.7 per cent last month if Canadians who wanted to work but didn’t look for a job were included in calculations.