In June, the unemployment rate for the Stratford-Bruce Peninsula Economic Region increased by 0.3 percentage points to 9.6%. At the same time, the provincial unemployment rate increased by 1.5 percentage points to 12.5%.

Overall employment in the region decreased by 2,100, with full-time losses (-3,200) offset by part-time gains (+1,100).

The number of Goods-producing sector employees decreased by 1,900 in the Stratford-Bruce Peninsula Economic Region. The greatest losses were in Construction (-1,200) and Agriculture (-800). Employment in the Services-producing sector decreased by 300. The greatest losses were in Educational services (-900) and Transportation and warehousing (-500).

Statistics Canada has recently calculated the underutilization rate for each economic region.

The underutilization rate combines:
 all those who were unemployed with those who were not in the labour force but wanted a job and did not look for one;
 those who remained employed but lost all or the majority of their usual work hours as a proportion of the potential labour force.

The underutilization rate offers a more complete picture of the impact of COVID-19 on the labour market than the unemployment rate alone. The most currently available underutilization rate for Stratford-Bruce Peninsula (April 2020) was 37.4%, compared to 36.6% for Ontario overall. “While the rising unemployment rate continues to reflect layoffs due to COVID-19, the underutilization rate gives us a broader understanding of how workers in our region are being impacted by the pandemic. The Planning Board will continue to track this data point through 2020,” says Gemma Mendez-Smith, Executive Director.

source: media release, Four County Labour Market Planning Board