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Monthly Labour Market Graphic

The latest Statistics Canada local labour market report customized for the Brantford CMA for last month is now available.

April Unemployment Rate: Brantford 5.0% [-] Ontario 4.9% [-] Canada 5.0% [=]

Be sure to review the participation rate and the employment rate (reported as percentages), as well as the labour force, the employed, and the unemployed values (reported as absolute numbers). These give a better picture of changes in the market.

Labour Market Report

The report includes annual rates for the last 10 years, comparing Brantford to surrounding CMAs as well as the provincial and national levels.

Overview from Statistics Canada

Highlights

Employment rose by 41,000 (+0.2%) in April, all in part-time work.

The unemployment rate was 5.0% in April, unchanged since December 2022.

Employment increased by 18,000 (+0.3%) among core-aged men (25 to 54 years old) and by 16,000 (+0.7%) among men aged 55 and older. Employment held steady for core-aged and older women. There was little change in female and male youth employment in the month.

Employment increased in wholesale and retail trade (+24,000; +0.8%); transportation and warehousing (+17,000; +1.6%); information, culture and recreation (+16,000; +1.9%); as well as in educational services (+15,000; +1.0%). Employment decreased in business, building and other support services (-14,000; -1.9%).

Employment rose in Ontario (+33,000; +0.4%) and Prince Edward Island (+2,200; +2.5%) in April, while it declined in Manitoba (-4,000; -0.6%). There was little change in the other provinces.

On a year-over-year basis, average hourly wages rose 5.2% (+$1.66 to $33.38) in April (not seasonally adjusted).

Employment gain in April driven by part-time work

Employment rose by 41,000 (+0.2%) in April. Since February, monthly employment growth has averaged 33,000, following cumulative increases of 219,000 in December 2022 and January 2023. The employment rate—the share of the population aged 15 and older who are employed—held steady at 62.4% for the third consecutive month in April.

Part-time employment increased by 48,000 (+1.3%) in April, while full-time employment held steady. This was the first notable increase in part-time work since October 2022. In April 2023, 18.1% of those employed were working part time, down slightly from a year earlier (18.7%). Of those who worked part-time, 15.2% did so involuntarily, meaning they would have preferred a full-time position. This rate was virtually unchanged from April 2022 (15.3%) (not seasonally adjusted).

Compared with 12 months earlier, the number of private sector employees rose by 299,000 (+2.3%) in April 2023, while there were 81,000 (+2.0%) more people working in the public sector. Self-employment was virtually unchanged on a year-over-year basis in April and remained below its pre-COVID-19 pandemic level of February 2020 (-135,000; -4.8%).

Employment increases among core-aged and older men

Employment for core-aged men (25 to 54 years old) rose by 18,000 (+0.3%) in April, following two months of little change. The employment gain among core-aged men in April was all in part-time work. Among core-aged women, employment varied little for the third consecutive month.

In the 12 months to April, employment grew faster among core-aged women (+133,000; +2.2%) than among core-aged men (+97,000; +1.5%). This was associated with a decrease in the employment rate for men (-0.6 percentage points to 87.8% in the 12 months to April), and little change in the employment rate for women, which stood at 81.7% in April.

Employment for men aged 55 and older rose by 16,000 (+0.7%) in April, while it held steady for women in the same age group. Like their core-age counterparts, net employment growth in the 12 months to April was greater for women aged 55 and older (+64,000; +3.3%) than for men in that age range (+57,000; +2.4%). The employment rate for women aged 55 and older was up 0.5 percentage points to 30.9% over the same period, while it was little changed at 40.6% for men.

Employment held steady in April for both young men and women aged 15 to 24. Compared with 12 months earlier, male youth employment was up by 40,000 (+3.0%) in April, while female youth employment varied little. Despite the employment gain among young men, the youth employment rate in April remained higher among women (60.6%) than among men (58.6%).

Local Top Line

  • April Unemployment Rate: Brantford 5.0% [-] Ontario 4.9% [-] Canada 5.0% [=]
  • The local unemployment rate decreased by 0.3 month over month.
  • The local labour force contracted by 300 month over month.
  • The number of employed did not change month over month.
  • The number of unemployed decreased by 300 month over month.
  • When compared to the surrounding CMAs of Hamilton, Niagara, Waterloo, Guelph, and London, Brantford’s unemployment rate is in the middle.

Note:  Brantford's unemployment reflects a 3 month moving average, whereas Ontario and Canada are monthly figures.  The sample CMA breakdown for Brantford area is detailed in text at the Stats Canada website:  http://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p3VD.pl?Function=getVD&TVD=117159&CVD=117161&CPV=543&CST=01012011&CLV=2&MLV=3