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November job figures among Ontario’s best

by WPBGE | Dec 1, 2023 | Press Release, Workforce Planning Board Of Grand Erie News

November 2023 employment figures showed that unemployment inched up in Brantford-Brant, despite the addition of several hundred jobs.

Last month’s local jobless rate climbed to 4.2%, up from 4.1% the previous month, even though employment grew by an estimated 500 people, according to the latest labour force survey from Statistics Canada. That increase in jobs caused the local employment rate to improve slightly to 63.3%.

Canada continues to add jobs but that hasn’t kept up with the country’s population growth. November saw employment increase by 25,000 jobs across Canada, but the unemployment rate still increased by 0.1% percentage points to 5.8% due to 78,000 working age people joining the labour pool. Ontario’s unemployment rate fell by 0.1% to 6.1%.

The Brantford area continues to boast the lowest jobless rate compared to neighbouring communities, and is the second lowest in the province, second only to Peterborough’s impressive 2.3%

Yet, while local employment numbers have been trending upwards over the last few months, there’s still room for improvement, said Danette Dalton, executive director of the Workforce Planning Board.

“Compared to this time last year, some of our local job numbers look better, but others don’t, frankly,” Dalton said. “Our unemployment rate in November 2022 was worse at 5.9%, but more people were participating in the labour force and were employed. Looking just at the jobless rate doesn’t tell the whole story.”

Dalton said that the employment rate a year ago was almost 3% higher than last month, and there were fewer people described as Not in the Labour Force: neither employed nor unemployed.

“But 2022 saw incredible, hard-to-beat job growth in our area, to put it in perspective. The 2023 year hasn’t seen as many gains in employment, but the numbers have been improving recently and we hope that continues into next year,” she said.

Retail salesperson was the No. 1 job advertised in November on Grand Erie Jobs, the job board operated by the Workforce Planning Board. Close to 200 of the 1,800 jobs were in retail, while another 100 were for shelf stockers and order fillers. Other top jobs included home support workers and material handlers.

Visit Statistics Canada’s website to read their news release on the November 2023 employment numbers for Canada and Ontario.

October sees better employment numbers

by WPBGE | Nov 7, 2023 | Workforce Planning Board Of Grand Erie News

October 2023 employment numbers saw the Brantford area’s jobless rate fall, reversing some recent job losses.

The Brantford-Brant unemployment rate dropped to 4.1%, down from September’s 4.7%, according to seasonally adjusted estimates from Statistics Canada’s monthly labour force survey.

By comparison, both the national and provincial unemployment rates grew. Canada’s increased to 5.7% despite employment growing by a modest 18,000, while Ontario saw its rate climb to 6.2%. Canada’s job growth has been unable to keep up with population growth.

Brantford gained an estimated 900 jobs in October, bouncing back from weaker numbers seen for the previous two months.

The local job market also maintained its bragging rights of having the lowest unemployment rate compared to nearby communities. Hamilton was the next lowest at 5.2%.

Brantford and Hamilton job numbers moved in the same direction last month. Both areas grew their labour forces, increased employment – particularly in service industries such as transportation, warehousing and education – and saw fewer people out of work.

“There’s a lot of similarity right now between the labour markets in Brantford and Hamilton,” said Danette Dalton, the Workforc Planning Board’s executive director. “There are thousands of people who commute daily between the communities in each direction.”

There were about 1,900 job postings in October on Grand Erie Jobs, the community online job board operated by the Workforce Planning Board. That was down 19% from September and 3% fewer companies posted positions.

“There has been a decline in the number of online job postings over the last several months, but that isn’t unusual,” Dalton said. “There’s a seasonal nature to the labour market and hiring can slow in the Fall months and then pick up in January. The same was true last year.”

Visit Statistics Canada’s website to read their news release on the October 2023 employment numbers for Canada and Ontario.

Workers continue to leave labour force

by WPBGE | Sep 13, 2023 | Press Release, Workforce Planning Board Of Grand Erie News

August 2023 employment numbers for Brantford Brant showed the jobless rate continues to increase, while the available labour pool keeps shrinking.

The Brantford-Brant unemployment rate climbed to 4.8% last month, up from July’s 4.2%, according to Statistics Canada’s seasonally adjusted figures, which are based on its monthly survey of local households.

Canada’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.5% in August, despite employment climbing by 40,000 across the country. The employment gains were outpaced by an increase of 103,000 working-age adults, fuelled by immigration. Ontario’s jobless rate climbed to 5.9%, when employment remained unchanged at the same time as the number of potential workers swelled by 45,000.

The Brantford area hasn’t seen an influx of people into the labour market, like in Ontario and nationally. Quite the opposite, in fact. Brantford’s labour force has been shrinking in size.

Overall employment has declined during 2023, but so has the number of unemployed residents, indicating that people have left the labour market, said Workforce Planning Board Executive Director Danette Dalton.

Since December 2022, the labour force has shrunk by 5,000 people, while the number of people not in the labour force – those considered neither employed nor looking for work – increased by 6,200, according to Statistics Canada’s estimates. The largest drop has been among men.

“It is puzzling to see such a dramatic change, especially when there’s been a lot of talk this year of labour shortages and jobs going unfilled,” Dalton said. “The number of working age men not in the labour force has been particularly noticeable and concerning.”

Dalton said that while there have been fewer job postings lately and there are other signs that hiring has slowed down in the local economy, there is still work out there, spread right across the Grand Erie region.

There were about 2,500 new job postings in August on Grand Erie Jobs, the online job board operated by the Workforce Planning Board. That was up slightly from July.

Visit Statistics Canada’s website to read their report on August 2023 employment-related figures for Canada and Ontario.

Jobless rate remains lowest in wider area

by WPBGE | Aug 10, 2023 | Press Release, Workforce Planning Board Of Grand Erie News

July 2023 employment figures showed the Grand Erie region tied for the second lowest jobless rate in Ontario.

The Brantford area unemployment rate rose to 4.2% last month, up from June’s 3.9%, according to seasonally adjusted estimates released by Statistics Canada.

The national rate rose slightly to 5.5%, while Ontario’s unemployment rate shrunk 0.1 point to 5.6%.

Brantford continues to boast the lowest jobless rate compared to surrounding census metropolitan areas, with Guelph following closely behind at 4.4%.

Youth participation and employment both increased, but this was offset by significant decreases amongst core working age and older adults. Both full and part-time employment decreased month over month.

“We’re seeing a growing number of older adults leave the labour force, which creates more job openings, but many of these are hard to fill because there’s a limited labour supply,” said Danette Dalton, the Workforce Planning Board of Grand Erie’s executive director.

“For the past few months, we’ve observed increases in the number of core-working aged adults not in the labour force, and we need to strategize ways to support these individuals by addressing obstacles that deter them from looking for work.

“We recently completed an in-depth study designed to better understand how workers can be supported through improving quality of work across workplaces. We observed major gaps in how employers and employees viewed job quality, but also, significant opportunities for collaborations between sectors, governments, community agencies and workers.”

The WPBGE’s latest report Examining Quality of Work in Grand Erie: an assessment of needs, gaps and opportunities’ is set to be released later this month. The report will be posted to this website.

The Grand Erie Jobs online job board saw about 2350 new postings in July, down slightly from June. The retail trade industry maintained the largest number of postings – namely for retail salespersons, followed by the health care and social assistance, waste management and educational services sectors.

There were also a large number of postings for material handlers, other customer and information service representatives and personal support workers, as well as for university professors and lecturers.

Visit Statistics Canada’s website to read their report on July 2023 employment-related figures for Canada and Ontario.

Local jobless rate equals Ontario’s best

by WPBGE | Jul 7, 2023 | Press Release, Workforce Planning Board Of Grand Erie News

June 2023 employment numbers saw Brantford-Brant in a three-way tie for Ontario’s lowest jobless rate.

June saw the area’s unemployment rate fall to 3.9%, down from 4.1% in May, according to Statistics Canada’s estimates released on Friday. Meanwhile, Norfolk County’s jobless rate for June was 4.5%, almost the same as one year ago.

Brantford-Brant was tied with Kingston and Thunder Bay with 3.9% jobless rates. Among nearby communities, the lowest rate was Guelph’s 4.2%. Hamilton’s unemployment rate was 5%, while Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge was 6.2%.

Employment grew by 60,000 across Canada last month, but the jobless rate still climbed to 5.4% because more people searched for work. It was a similar story at the provincial level, as Ontario’s rate increased to 5.7%, despite employment being up 56,000.

“The local job market continues to be strong, with companies expanding and many active construction projects,” said Danette Dalton, the Workforce Planning Board’s executive director.

“Yet, at the same time, the number of people not in the labour force, from students to older adults, is the highest in more than 6 months. There are many potential workers we need to engage with to get them participating.”

People not in the labour force

The number of local adults 15 and over not in the labour force, meaning they were neither employed nor unemployed, was 40,400 in June, up more than 5,000 from last December.

“Some of those people were working over the winter but aren’t now. It’s unclear why,” Dalton said.

There were more than 2,700 job vacancies in June on Grand Erie Jobs, the area’s largest online job board, which is operated by the Workforce Planning Board. In total, there were 4,500 active job postings last month, with 1,500 employers looking to hire.

Retail salesperson is the No. 1 job in demand, while transport truck drivers, material handlers and customer service representatives were also heavily advertised for in June. There were also a large number of postings in education, from elementary school teachers to university lecturers.

Visit Statistics Canada’s website to read their news release on June 2023 employment numbers for Canada and Ontario.