October 2022 employment and unemployment increased in unison in the Brantford-Brant area.

The area’s employment rate grew to a new three-year high of 66% in October, up from 65.1% the previous month, while the jobless rate increased by a smaller amount to 4.8%, according to Statistics Canada estimates based on its monthly survey of households.

Canada’s jobless rate remained unchanged at 5.2%, even though an estimated 108,000 more people were working in full-time jobs. Employment grew in Ontario by 43,000 jobs in October, mainly in part-time work and mainly in Toronto.

“Additional people joining the workforce can soften the impact of the labour shortage that is being experienced by many Brantford area businesses,” said Danette Dalton, the Workforce Planning Board’s executive director. “We know from our conversations with employers that the labour shortage is at top of mind.”

October 2022 employment growth continued the gains seen over the last six months. Employment has grown by about 5,000, while the number of unemployed people only increased by a few hundred, meaning most people entering or re-entering the labour force did find jobs.

Dalton said the Grand Erie Aspire Job Fair, taking place Nov. 15 to 17 in Brantford, Norfolk County and Brant County, has seen strong interest from employers, with more than 100 registered so far.

There were almost 3,000 new postings in October on Grand Erie Jobs, the region’s largest job board, as well as hundreds of positions posted in September that were still active.

Job seekers will soon be able to set up free accounts and customize their use of Grand Erie Jobs to aid their search, Dalton said. People will have the ability to follow specific occupations and local companies, match their skills to job openings, and create a resume.

Visit Statistics Canada’s website to read its news release on October 2022 employment in Canada and Ontario.

September 2022 employment grew, while the unemployment rate also inched up.

Brantford-Brant’s September jobless rate inched up to 4.1%, from 3.8% in August, according to Statistics Canada’s monthly labour force survey. The employment rate climbed at the same time by half a percentage to 65.1 – a 3-year high.

Norfolk’s unemployment rate was estimated at 6% last month, a dramatic improvement compared to September 2021 when it was 9.4%. The employment rate also improved over the same 12 months, landing at 52.2%, though other numbers were little changed.

Canada’s jobless rate dipped slightly to 5.2% after the economy gained about 21,000 jobs. Meanwhile, Ontario saw about 32,000 jobs lost, though the unemployment rate was virtually unchanged at 5.8%.

“We’ve seen consistent, positive employment growth over the last year in the Brantford-Brant area, with an estimated 5,000 more people working since last September,” said Danette Dalton of the Workforce Planning Board.

“Last month’s employment rate of 65.1% was the highest in 3 years, so we have made a lot of progress that has attracted more people to the labour market. But there’s more room to grow.”

The overall size of the labour force and the percentage of the adult population participating in the labour force have also continued their upwards trend.

Over the last 6 months, there have been about 3,100 more people working in trades, transportation and equipment operator occupations and 2,600 more in sales and service positions. Most of the gains over the last few months have been in full-time work, while part-time employment is up slightly.

Despite the growth, Dalton said a continuing storyline locally and across Canada is the labour shortage, with many businesses unable to fill positions.

There were about 3,800 new postings last month on the Grand Erie Jobs job board operated by the Workforce Planning Board.

Visit Statistics Canada’s website to read its news release on September 2022 employment in Canada and Ontario.

August 2022 employment grew in Brantford-Brant, but the jobless rate still climbed after an influx of people searched for work.

The local unemployment rate climbed to 3.8% last month, up from 3.4% in July.

Meanwhile, Canada’s jobless rate jumped half a percentage point to 5.4% in August as employment fell by 40,000 overall. Ontario’s rate climbed to 5.7%, attributed to more people searching for work.

Based on its survey of Brantford-Brant residents, Statistics Canada estimated that an additional 1,700 people entered the labour market in August, with 1,300 finding jobs and 400 not. That pushed up the employment rate by a full percentage point to 64.6%, the highest in the last year.

“With many businesses experiencing labour shortages, this influx of workers is particularly good news,” said Danette Dalton, executive director of the Workforce Planning Board of Grand Erie.

“This will help take some pressure off businesses, but we know that the tight labour market will continue, with lots of competition for workers.”

Dalton said that some companies have increased wages, improved benefits and offered signing bonuses, but it isn’t clear if these actions have enticed people to rejoin the workforce.

The planning board has launched a new survey to better understand what job seekers and workers value most in a job. Wages, benefits, opportunity for promotion, the ability to use a person’s skills?

The Quality of Work survey will run over the next couple of month and local residents are encouraged to take 10 minutes to complete it: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/QoW-BE

August saw 3,900 new jobs listed on Grand Erie Jobs, reversing the drop seen in July.

Typically, the most in-demand jobs are in the service industry, which is where the majority of employment growth in August came from, led by positions in wholesale and retail trade.

Statistics Canada’s local survey showed a large chunk of job growth was in full-time work. More men than women began working, with more job gains among men in the core working ages of 25 – 54.

Visit Statistics Canada’s website to read its news release on August 2022 employment in Canada and Ontario.