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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.

February Unemployment Rate: Brantford 5.8% [-] Ontario 5.1% [-] 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 held steady in February (+22,000; +0.1%), and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.0%.

Employment grew in health care and social assistance (+15,000; +0.6%), public administration (+10,000; +0.9%), and utilities (+7,500; +5.0%). At the same time, fewer people worked in business, building and other support services (-11,000; -1.5%).

There was little change in employment among core-aged adults (25 to 54 years old) and youth (15 to 24 years old). Employment among those aged 55 to 64 rose by 25,000 (+0.7%) in February, continuing a strong upward trend since August 2022.

The number of employees grew in the private sector (+39,000; +0.3%), while there was little change in public sector employment and in the number of self-employed.

Employment increased in New Brunswick (+5,100; +1.3%), Manitoba (+4,900; +0.7%), Newfoundland and Labrador (+3,800; +1.6%) and Prince Edward Island (+1,700; +2.0%), and declined in Nova Scotia (-4,700; -0.9%). There was little change in employment in the other provinces.

Total hours worked rose 0.6% in February and were up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Average hourly wages rose 5.4% (+$1.69 to $33.16) on a year-over-year basis in February, compared with 4.5% (+$1.42) in January (not seasonally adjusted).

Employment rose for women in the six months to February.

Employment in professional, scientific and technical services held steady in January and February, following strong growth in 2022.

Employment holds steady in February

Employment was little changed in February (+22,000; +0.1%), following two consecutive monthly increases in December (+69,000; +0.3%) and January (+150,000; +0.8%). Employment has trended upward since September 2022, and there were 348,000 (+1.8%) more employed persons in Canada in February 2023 than in August 2022.

The employment rate—the percentage of people aged 15 and older who are employed—was 62.4% in the month, down 0.1 percentage points from the recent high observed in January. The rate in January was the highest since May 2019 (62.5%).

Local Top Line

  • February Unemployment Rate: Brantford 5.8% [-] Ontario 5.1% [-] Canada 5.0% [=]
  • The local unemployment rate decreased by 1.0 month over month.
  • The local labour force contracted by 500 month over month.
  • The number of employed increased by 300 month over month.
  • The number of unemployed decreased by 900 month over month.
  • When compared to the surrounding CMAs of Hamilton, Niagara, Waterloo, Guelph, and London, Brantford’s unemployment rate is highest.

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