August employment numbers saw Brantford-Brant record its highest jobless rate in five years, as additional people sought work.
The local unemployment rate jumped 1.6 per cent in August to 9.4 per cent, the highest it has been since August 2020 during the pandemic when it hit 11 per cent, according to Statistics Canada’s seasonally adjusted figures.
Canada’s August unemployment rate climbed to 7.1 per cent due to a loss of 66,000 jobs, most of which were part time. Ontario lost an estimated 26,000 jobs, but August’s unemployment rate fell to 7.7 per cent as fewer people searched for work.
Contrary to Canada as a whole, Brantford-Brant did not lose jobs in August. And contrary to Ontario, more people were searching for work in the Brantford area last month.
About 2,000 additional people entered the local labour force in August, but there weren’t enough jobs for them. The number of unemployed residents jumped by an estimated 1,800 – the largest one month increase since the 2020 pandemic – while employment increased by 400.
“It’s a tough job market out there right now and there’s another 1,800 residents who need support from the community,” said Danette Dalton, the Workforce Planning Board’s executive director.
Dalton said that since January, the number of unemployed residents in Brantford-Brant has increased by about 4,800, while the number of employed also increased by 4,800.
“It’s a very unusual situation. But the main takeaway is that there’s a lot of people who need help finding work and possibly accessing training, retraining, or financial and other supports,” she said.
Dalton pointed to one sign that more people are looking for work and that there’s greater competition for jobs. The number of visits to the Workforce Planning Board’s online job board, Grand Erie Jobs, doubled last month to more than 9,000, yet the number of job ads was the same as July.
Dalton added that Southern Ontario communities such as Windsor and Oshawa that have automotive-related manufacturers, as does Brantford-Brant, have been impacted by U.S. tariffs and have also had big jumps in their jobless rates.
Visit Statistics Canada’s website to read their news release on the August 2025 employment numbers for Canada and Ontario.
