The unemployment rate in the Stratford to Bruce Peninsula Economic Region dropped slightly in May.
That's according to the latest unemployment figures from the Four County Labour Market Planning Board (FCLMPB).
The latest numbers show a 0.3 percentage point drop in unemployment locally to land at 3.9 per cent. That's the second lowest unemployment rate for a region in the province. The provincial unemployment rate currently sits at 7.9 per cent, a slight uptick of 0.3 percentage points. Both of those rates are unadjusted for seasonality.
According to the FCLMPB, the region's net population went up by 400 but the labour force increase was 1,300.
The numbers also show that the region experienced a "significant increase of 1,700 people in overall employment, with approximately 2,700 full-time gains and about 900 losses in part-time employment from last month," according to the FCLMPB.
"Although the economy is facing challenging times; we are seeing positive signs as unemployment rate goes down and overall employment up this month," said Dana Soucie, Executive Director for the Four County Labour Market Planning Board. "Growth in the overall labour force and employment sizes, as well as growth in sectors that have been struggling are all encouraging signs for the region’s job seekers and employers."
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. The current number of job postings is 1,353.