(© Can Stock Photo / stuartmiles)(© Can Stock Photo / stuartmiles)
Windsor

Windsor's March jobless rate up to 7.5 per cent

Windsor saw its unemployment creep up in March.

Stats Canada released on Friday morning its Labour Force Survey for March, and it showed Windsor's jobless rate went up a tenth of a percentage point to 7.5 per cent. That rate is tied with Toronto and is just behind the 7.6 per cent reported for the Niagara Region.

However, the labour participation rate went up from 61.5 per cent in February to 62.1 per cent in March.

According to the report, the Windsor-Essex census area's population increased from 322,900 to 324,200. The number of those employed or looking for work, however, went up by 2,400.

Despite the national unemployment rising by three-tenths of a percentage point to 6.1 per cent in March, Canada's economy as a whole shed only 2,200 jobs.

Employment in accommodation and food services fell last month, along with retail, and professional, scientific, and technical services. Jobs increased, though, in education and social services.

The unemployment rate in Ontario went up from February by 0.2 per cent to 6.7 per cent in March, as more people looked for work. Employment went up provincewide by 26,000.

Once again, the total number of hours spent working didn't change much for Canadians. It hasn't changed since June 2023. But, year over year, it rose 0.7 per cent.

The average hourly wage went up 5.1 per cent from March 2023, an increase of $1.69 to $34.81 per hour.

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Photo by Sarah Joy via Flickr

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