In December, the unemployment rate for the Stratford-Bruce Peninsula Economic Region, which includes the Municipality of Meaford, increased by 0.8 percentage points to 3.5%, now the second lowest in Ontario. The provincial unemployment rate decreased by 0.3 percentage points to 4.8%, both unadjusted for seasonality.
The annual adjusted unemployment rate for 2022 was 3.7%, 0.5 percentage points lower than that for 2021 which was 4.2%.
Overall net employment in the region decreased by 3,600, with 6,000 full-time losses and 2,400 part-time gains. The region’s labour force size decreased from 165,900 people in November 2022 to 163,700 in December 2022.
The number of Goods-producing sector employees decreased once again this month by net
1,500. The Manufacturing sector experienced the biggest loss this month (-1,300). Construction and Utilities also experienced losses (-1,200) and (-1,100) respectively. Agriculture experienced a gain (+2,100).
Employment in the Services-producing sector decreased by net 2,000. Health care and social
assistance experienced the biggest loss (-2,000) while Educational services experienced the
largest gain (+1,400) followed by Transportation and warehousing (+800).
“With an aging workforce and high participation rates, vacant jobs are increasing and staying vacant longer,” said Dana Soucie, Executive Director for the Four County Labour Market Planning Board. “Rural communities face additional barriers in attracting the necessary workforce, making it extremely competitive for many employers in Bruce, Grey, Huron and Perth. Understanding our ability to attract and retain workers to the region will be a valuable exercise as we navigate these the labour shortages.”
Current job postings for the Bruce, Grey, Huron, Perth region have increased over time since the pandemic and can be found at: www.connect2JOBS.ca. This is updated regularly so visit often and create your account to track the job opportunities. Our current number of job postings currently exceeds 2,100, a decrease of 500 jobs from last month.
