Walkerton, ON (March 6, 2020) –In February, the unemployment rate for the Stratford-Bruce Peninsula Economic Region increased by 0.8 percentage points to 4.9%. At the same time, the provincial unemployment rate increased slightly, by 0.1percentage points, to 5.1%.

Overall employment in the region decreased by 200 with full-time gains (+1,600) offset by part-time losses (-1,800).

The number of Goods-producing sector employees increased by 800 in the Stratford-Bruce Peninsula Economic Region.The greatest gains were in Construction (+2,200) and Manufacturing (+900), which were offset by losses in Agriculture (-1,200) and Utilities (-1,000).

Employment in theServices-producing sector decreased by 1,000.The greatest losses were in Accommodation and food services (-1,400) and Wholesale and retail trade (-1,200). These losses were partly offset by gains in Professional, scientific and technical services(+800), Transportation and warehousing (+500) and Educational services (+500).

“Although the local unemployment rate continues to rise in 2020, this is similar to what we observed last year at this time and does not point to any shifts in our annual unemployment rate,”says Gemma Mendez-Smith, Executive Director of the Four County Labour Market Planning Board.