The Brantford and area labour market continues to hold steady.
Statistics Canada reported recently that the Brantford-Brant jobless rate stood still for the third straight month at 4.9% in March.
Meanwhile, Norfolk’s unemployment rate was estimated to be 4.6% in March, the first time in six months a figure has been released due to weak data. The rate was almost identical to the 4.5% reported last September.
Canada’s unemployment rate jumped in March by 0.3% to 6.1% – the largest increase in months.
The executive director of the Workforce Planning Board of Grand Erie, Danette Dalton says the fact that this area has held steady while the population has grown is a positive. She adds our labour market has been able to absorb population growth, replacing workers leaving the workforce with new people.
There were 2,000 new jobs posted last month on Grand Erie Jobs, the online job board the planning board maintains. That was up 5% over February, though the number of employers hiring was down slightly at 1,340.
The Brant Community Healthcare System posted the most jobs in March, more than 80, while the City of Brantford was also high on the list. Three of the Top 5 jobs advertised were health-care related.
Written by Loreena Dickson