Jobless rate rises to 8.4%

Peterborough had the second highest unemployment rate of Canada’s census metropolitan areas in November — despite a net gain of 300 jobs in the month.

Statistics Canada reported Friday that Peterborough’s jobless rate rose to 8.4 per cent in November from 7.2 per cent in October. Only Saint John, N.B. had a higher rate at 8.5 per cent. Quebec City had the lowest rate at 2.8 per cent.

Peterborough’s rate is higher than the national average of 6 per cent and the provincial average of 6.4 per cent.

Peterborough’s labour force has now grown to be larger than what it was prior to the start of the pandemic in March 2020.

Another 1,400 people joined Peterborough’s labour force in November, increasing it to 71,200, the Statistics Canada survey found, with 65,100 employed (up 300 from October) and 6,000 unemployed (up 1,000 from October).

Peterborough’s labour force participation rate (the proportion of working age people who are working or seeking employment) rose to 62.7 per cent in November from 61.5 per cent in October.

By comparison, the unemployment rate in Barrie dropped to 4.6 per cent in November from 5.4 per cent in October, Oshawa fell to 6.2 per cent from 7.5 per cent and Kingston slipped to 6.5 per cent from 6.7 per cent.

The local figures are for the Peterborough census metropolitan area, which includes the city, the four surrounding townships of Cavan Monaghan, Selwyn, Douro-Dummer and Otonabee-South Monaghan, along with Curve Lake and Hiawatha First Nations.

Statistics Canada jobless figures are based on surveys adjusted to a three-month rolling average and are seasonally adjusted. Because of its size, Peterborough has a smaller sample size than the other cities, which Statistics Canada warns can cause variability in the sampling.