Brantford-Brant’s jobless rate stood unchanged at 7% last month, according to Statistic Canada’s seasonally adjusted estimates, which are based on a monthly survey of area households.

 Across Canada, the unemployment rate dropped 0.1 percentage point to 6.5%, while in Ontario, it dropped 0.2 percentage points to 6.9%.

 Some surrounding communities saw unemployment rise, while others saw it drop. St. Catherines-Niagara tied with Brantford for the second highest rate, below Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo (7.6%). 

 Locally, job losses were mostly experienced by core-aged men (i.e. 25 – 54 years old), working in manufacturing, construction and wholesale trade sectors. Participation and employment amongst females did not change significantly, but many of these individuals switched from full-time to part-time work.

 “Our workforce is discouraged.” said Danette Dalton, executive director of the Workforce Planning Board of Grand Erie. “Hiring has slowed, and some jobseekers are leaving the workforce because they are unable to find suitable work.” 

“We are seeing many community agencies step up to support jobseekers through organizing networking events and offering skills training; SOAR Community Services and NPAAMB are hosting job fairs this week. We encourage jobseekers to connect with these and other employment service providers to find out more about opportunities to develop their skills and connect with employers.”  

The workforce planning board also supports the labour force by helping build training programs that are relevant to local employers. Business owners/HR representatives are invited to identify local skills gaps affecting their workforce by completing the region’s EmployerOne survey: www.workforceplanningboard.org/employerone-survey 

The Grand Erie Jobs online job board featured 1,750 new job postings in September, a slight decrease from the month prior. Postings remained up for a shorter period on average, but most jobs continue to take weeks to fill.

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