Unemployment crept up, job openings tightened up, net employment decreased, as did the size of the labour force, according to updated monthly figures released by the Four Counties Planning Board last week.
Crucially, Grey, Bruce, Perth and Huron counties – the Stratford-Bruce Peninsula Economic Region – show a workforce shrinkage that poses a threat to sustaining the level of commercial, medical and municipal resources currently enjoyed by existing residents, a regional problem deepened by any potential growth in population attracted by the growth of bedroom communities or any housing mandated by the provincial government.
These monthly numbers, unadjusted for seasonal and regional variations, are only a snapshot in time rather than the deeper analysis of trends presented with the annual numbers, due for release in March.
The Planning Board shares:
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In December, the unemployment rate for the Stratford-Bruce Peninsula Economic Region increased by 0.8 percentage points to 3.5 per cent, now the second lowest in Ontario. The provincial unemployment rate decreased by 0.3 percentage points to 4.8 per cent, both unadjusted for seasonality.
The annual adjusted unemployment rate for 2022 was 3.7 per cent, 0.5 percentage points lower than that for 2021 which was 4.2 per cent.
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” says 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: 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.
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.
Are you an employer operating in Grey, Bruce, Huron or Perth county, with at least one employee? Please consider completing our five minute EmployerOne survey.
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source: media release, Four County Labour Market Planning Board
