Chatham-Kent's unemployment rate hit a 17-year low in October.
The municipality is reporting that the jobless rate dropped seven-tenths of a point to 5.2% in October, which is the lowest figure since the municipality began tracking the statistic. The mayor's office says it was the seventh straight month of decline in the jobless rate, which peaked at 7.1% in March of last year.
The October rate was lower than the provincial and federal rates. The October rate in Ontario was 5.9% and the national rate was 6.3%.
In total, there were 50,300 people working in Chatham-Kent, an increase of 600 compared with October of 2016. It marks the fourth straight month of job increases and represents the largest number of employed persons in 2017.
“Chatham-Kent is home to many forward-thinking and innovative businesses that continue to invest in themselves and achieve success,” says Stuart McFadden, acting director of economic development for the municipality. “The entire community is benefiting from these leaders in our community who are finding new business opportunities that require them to hire more people."
