Thousands of full-time jobs were lost in the area that includes Bruce and Grey counties in January, as Omicron shutdowns led to a jump in unemployment.
The Four County Labour Planning Board says the jobless rate for the Stratford-Bruce Peninsula region hit 4.6 per cent last month, compared to 3.2 per cent in December.
According to the planning board, the regional economy shaved more than 5,400 full-time positions. Two-hundred part-time jobs were also lost.
“This full-time loss was the largest since the pandemic’s onset,” a statement from the Four County Labour Market Planning Board explains.
The wholesale and retail trade (-1,900), healthcare and social assistance (-1,200), utilities (-1,00) and manufacturing (-700) industries led the job losses. The greatest employment gains in January came in the professional, scientific and technical services sector (+1,500).
Four County Labour Market Planning Board Executive Director Gemma Mendez-Smith says the region’s labour force continues to decline as well, and is now at the lowest its been since the onset of the pandemic.
In January, the region’s labour force size declined to 161,000 from 167,000 a month prior. The labour force participation rate fell to 60.3 per cent; In December, it was 61.6 per cent.
“It is imperative that we build strong attraction and retention strategies,” Mendez-Smith says.
The planning board says there are currently over 2,600 job opportunities posted on its regional job page for Bruce, Grey, Huron and Perth counties.
Ontario’s provincial unemployment rate for the month of January increased to 6.1 per cent, unadjusted for seasonality. Nationally, it was up to 6.5 per cent as more than 200,000 jobs were lost across the country. Statistics Canada says the country’s labour participation rate was 65 per cent last month.
*Editor’s note: This story was updated from an earlier version to include additional statistics received from Four County Labour Market Planning Board.