
The latest Statistics Canada local labour market report customized for the Brantford CMA for last month is now available.
- December Unemployment Rate: Brantford 4.8% [-] Ontario 7.5% [-] Canada 6.7% [-]
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.
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
- Visit the Statistics Canada page for full information.
Employment rose by 91,000 (+0.4%) in December and the employment rate increased 0.2 percentage points to 60.8%. The unemployment rate declined 0.1 percentage points to 6.7%.
In December, employment rose for core-aged men (25 to 54 years old) (+30,000; +0.4%) and men aged 55 and older (+41,000; +1.7%) as well as for women aged 55 and older (+21,000; +1.1%).
Employment gains in December were led by educational services (+17,000; +1.1%), transportation and warehousing (+17,000; +1.6%), finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing (+16,000; +1.1%), and health care and social assistance (+16,000; +0.5%).
In December, employment increased in Alberta (+35,000; +1.4%), Ontario (+23,000; +0.3%), British Columbia (+14,000; +0.5%), Nova Scotia (+7,400; +1.4%), and Saskatchewan (+4,000; +0.7%), while there was a decline in Manitoba (-7,200; -1.0%). Employment was little changed in the other provinces.
Total hours worked rose 0.5% in December and were up 2.1% compared with 12 months earlier.
Average hourly wages among employees were up 3.8% (+$1.32 to $35.77) on a year-over-year basis in December, following growth of 4.1% in November (not seasonally adjusted).
Employment rises in December, capping off 2024 with a comparable growth rate to 2023
Employment rose by 91,000 (+0.4%) in December, mostly in full-time work (+56,000; +0.3%). This follows an increase in November (+51,000) and marks the third employment gain in the past four months.
The year 2024 ended with 413,000 (+2.0%) more people working in December compared with 12 months earlier. This year-over-year growth rate was comparable to the one observed in December 2023 (+2.1%) and to the average growth rate for December over the pre-COVID-19 pandemic period of 2017 to 2019 (+1.9%).
Public sector employment rose by 40,000 (+0.9%) in December, the second consecutive monthly increase. In the 12 months to December, public sector employment rose by 156,000 (+3.7%), driven by gains in the public-sector components of educational services as well as health care and social assistance.
Private sector employment was little changed in December (+27,000; +0.2%) and was up 191,000 (+1.4%) on a year-over-year basis. The number of self-employed people rose by 24,000 (+0.9%) in December, the first increase since February. This brought total gains in self-employment for the year to 64,000 (+2.4%).
Employment rate rises for the first time since January 2023
The employment rate—the proportion of the population aged 15 and older who are employed—increased 0.2 percentage points to 60.8% in December, after holding steady in November. The increase in December was the first since January 2023. On a year-over-year basis, the employment rate was down 0.9 percentage points in December.
Employment growth in recent months has occurred in the context of slowing population growth. According to the most recent official population estimates, the third quarter of 2024 saw the slowest quarterly population growth since the first quarter of 2022.
Local Top Line
- December Unemployment Rate: Brantford 4.8% [-] Ontario 7.5% [-] Canada 6.7% [-]
- The local unemployment rate decreased by 0.9 month over month.
- The local labour force expanded by 300 month over month.
- The number of employed increased by 1,000 month over month.
- The number of unemployed decreased by 700 month over month.
- When compared to the surrounding CMAs of Hamilton, Niagara, Waterloo, Guelph, and London, Brantford’s unemployment rate is lowest.