The unemployment rate in the area that includes Bruce, Grey, Huron and Perth counties fell in August, as thousands of new full-time jobs were created.
The Four County Labour Market Planning Board says the jobless rate for the Stratford-Bruce Peninsula region checked in at 3.8 per cent last month — the lowest in the province — down from 4.3 per cent in July.
The regional economy added 2,800 full-time positions, partially offset by the loss of 800 part-time jobs.
The healthcare and social assistance (+1,900) and manufacturing (+900) sectors led the job gains in August. The greatest employment losses in the region came in the educational services (-1,700), utilities (-1,600) and construction (-1,500) industries.
Four County Labour Market Planning Board Executive Director Dana Soucie says the region’s low unemployment rate and high labour force participation rate is creating a critically tight labour market for employers.
“This contributes to the ongoing challenges for employers to attract new workers and fill job openings,” Soucie says.
Currently, there are more than 2,700 postings on the regional job board run by the planning board: www.connect2jobs.ca.
Ontario’s unemployment rate for the month of August, unadjusted for seasonality, increased to 5.8 per cent.
Nationally, 40,000 positions were lost last month and the unemployment rate increased to 5.4 per cent. That is up from an historic low of 4.9 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada says the overall labour force participation rate, or the proportion of the population aged 15 and older that is either employed or unemployed, increased slightly to 64.8 per cent last month.