The regional unemployment rate in the area that includes Bruce and Grey counties increased in March.
The Four County Labour Market Planning Board says the jobless rate for the Stratford-Bruce Peninsula region hit 5.9 per cent, the highest monthly unemployment number in the area since April 2021.
This despite the creation of 1,700 new full-time positions, which was partially offset by about 1,000 part-time job losses.
More people joined the labour force last month as well. The Four County Labour Market Planning Board says the size of the region’s labour force increased month-to-month to about 163,700 — about 3,000 more than February 2023.
The greatest job gains came in the wholesale and retail trade (+2,400) healthcare and social assistance (+2,300) and utilities (+1,700) sectors.
The professional, scientific and technical services (-2,600), accommodation and food services (-2,200) and manufacturing industries posted employment declines.
“We have seen positive increases in the goods-producing sector this month and although our unemployment rate has experienced an increase we continue to see losses in services-producing sector,” says Four County Labour Market Planning Board Executive Director Dana Soucie. “We will continue to monitor these changes as we investigate the migration trends and how it relates to our ability to fill vacancies for the hardest hit sectors”.
Ontario’s unemployment rate also rose in March, to 5.3 per cent.
Nationally, it held steady at five per cent for a fourth straight month as 35,000 new positions were created across Canada.
