The regional unemployment rate in the area that includes Bruce and Grey counties ticked up slightly in December as thousands of full-time jobs were lost.
The Four County Labour Planning Board says the jobless rate for the Stratford-Bruce Peninsula region hit 3.2 per cent last month, compared to three per cent in November.
According to the planning board, the regional economy shaved more than 4,100 full-time positions, offset slightly by the creation of 1,000 part-time jobs.
“This full-time loss was the largest in 2021,” a statement from the Four County Labour Market Planning Board explains.
The wholesale and retail trade (-2,000), transportation and warehousing (-1,500), utilities (-500) and agriculture (-400) industries led the job losses. The greatest employment gains in December came in the accommodation and food services sector (+1,500).
The labour pool also declined in Stratford-Bruce Peninsula by 2,800 workers in December 2021.
Four County Labour Market Planning Board Executive Director Gemma Mendez-Smith says the region’s low unemployment rate and shrinking labour pool makes expanding the workforce to fill job vacancies to meet employers’ needs a top priority.
“Even with the positive gains in accommodations and food services, with each new lockdown and new virus strain, the services-producing sector continue to be the hardest hit throughout the pandemic,” Mendez-Smith says.
Meanwhile, the Four County Labour Market planning board says the annual regional unemployment rate for 2021 in Stratford-Bruce Peninsula was 4.2 per cent, a sizeable drop from 7.3 per cent in 2020.
Ontario’s provincial unemployment rate for the month of December fell to 5.8 per cent, unadjusted for seasonality. Nationally, it was down to 5.9 per cent. Statistics Canada says the country’s labour participation rate was 65.3 per cent last month.