The regional unemployment rate for the area that includes Bruce and Grey counties fell sharply in April to 4.2 per cent, masking some signs of weakness in the labour market.
That’s down from 5.4 per cent in March.
The Four County Labour Market Planning Board says the lower jobless number for the Stratford-Bruce Peninsula region came even as 1,000 full-time jobs were lost and overall employment fell.
A decline in the size of the labour force (-3,200 people) resulted in the lower unemployment number. The unemployment rate is calculated by taking the number of unemployed people, and expressing it as a percentage of the labour force — those who are 15 and older without a job but actively looking for work.
In short: even though the region’s unemployment number was lower in April, fewer people were working and fewer people made up the region’s total labour force.
The manufacturing (+2,000), finance, insurance, real estate and leasing (+1,400) and utilities (+1,300) sectors saw the biggest employment gains last month.
The most job losses came in the construction (-2,200), transportation and warehousing (-1,100) and information, culture and recreation (-1,100) industries.
The broader labour market showed signs of weakness in April as well. Ontario’s unemployment rate increased to 7.8 per cent. Nationally, the number ticked higher to 6.9 per cent.
