March 2018 – Notable Full Time Employment Declines

By March 9, 2018 March 11th, 2020 News, News Release 2018

News Release

March 2018 – Notable Full Time Employment Declines

Media Information:

Walkerton, ON (March 9, 2018) – The February unemployment rate for the Stratford-Bruce Peninsula Economic Region was little changed at 4.5%, slightly increased 0.1 percentage point compared with January. Over the same period, the provincial unemployment rate in February slightly increased by 0.2 percentage point to 5.4%.

Employment in the Stratford-Bruce Peninsula Economic Region declined by 2,900, due to losses in fulltime work (-2,500) and part-time work (-300). The overall employment decline was accompanied by a notable decrease in the labour force pool (-2,700).

In the Goods-producing sector, employment fell by 2,500 in February, while it rose by 5,400 on a yearover-year basis. Declines were spread across a number of industries, including Agriculture (-1,400), Construction (-900), and Manufacturing (-800). Despite these declines, employment in Utilities grew by 900 in February.

Employment in the Services-producing sector declined by 400 in February. There were fewer people working in Information, culture and recreation (-800) and Public administration (-500). At the same time, the number of Accommodation and food services employees increased by 800 in February.

Grey County hosted a job fair in partnership with several community partners which saw approximately 1200 people attend and 85 employers looking to hire.

The Four County Labour Market Planning Board released a new report entitled Local Labour Market Plan 2018. This comprehensive report presents a balanced view on the regional labour market, and can be accessed on the Planning Board’s website http://www.planningboard.ca/reports/local-labour-marketplan/

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Note: Statistics Canada’s monthly Labour Force Survey provides estimates of employment and unemployment, based on a sampling of households in communities. Stratford-Bruce Peninsula figures represent a three-month moving average, unadjusted for seasonality.