
The latest Statistics Canada local labour market report customized for the Brantford CMA for last month is now available.
January Unemployment Rate: Brantford 6.5% [-] Ontario 7.3% [+] Canada 6.5% [+]
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.
Revisions to Labour Force Survey data
Following each census cycle, Labour Force Survey (LFS) data are revised to ensure alignment with the most recently available population estimates, geographic boundaries, and occupation and industry classifications. This standard revision process—which has little impact on key labour market indicators such as employment and the unemployment rate—ensures that the LFS continues to paint a complete and accurate picture of labour market conditions. Read more on the Statistics Canada website.
Overview from Statistics Canada
- Visit the Statistics Canada page for full information.
Employment fell by 200,000 (-1.0%) in January and the unemployment rate rose 0.5 percentage points to 6.5%.
With the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, many jurisdictions had implemented stricter public health measures by the Labour Force Survey (LFS) reference week of January 9 to 15. Capacity limits or closures had been re-introduced in retail stores and high-contact settings such as restaurants, bars, concert halls and gyms. Also, schools in several jurisdictions had switched to online learning.
January employment declines were driven by Ontario and Quebec, and accommodation and food services was the hardest-hit industry. Youth and core-aged women, who are more likely than other demographic groups to work in industries affected by the public health measures in place in January, saw the largest impacts.
The number of people who were employed but worked less than half their usual hours rose by 620,000 (+66.1%) in January, the largest increase since March 2020. Total hours worked fell 2.2% after being at pre-COVID levels in November and December 2021.
Highlights
Employment declines in January during the fifth wave of the pandemic
Employment fell by 200,000 (-1.0%) in January, spread across both part-time (-117,000; -3.3%) and full-time (-83,000; -0.5%) work.
Total hours worked fell 2.2% after being at pre-COVID levels in November and December 2021.
The number of employed people who worked less than half their usual hours rose by 620,000 (+66.1%) in January 2022, the largest increase since March 2020.
Youth saw declines in both part-time (-93,000; -7.1%) and full-time (-46,000; -3.5%) work.
Employment fell among women in the core working ages of 25 to 54, entirely in part-time work (-43,000; -4.3%).
All of the employment decline in January 2022 was among private sector employees (-206,000; -1.6%).
In January, 1 in 10 (10.0%) employees were absent from their job due to illness or disability.
Almost one-quarter of workers (24.3%) reported that they usually work exclusively at home.
Average hourly wages grew 2.4% (+$0.72) on a year-over-year basis in January, down from 2.7% in November and December 2021.
Employment in services-producing industries fell by 223,000. Accommodation and food services (-113,000), information, culture and recreation (-48,000) and retail trade (-26,000) saw the largest declines.
Employment increased by 23,000 in the goods-producing sector.
Employment declined in Ontario, Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.
Unemployment rate increases for the first time in nine months
The unemployment rate increased 0.5 percentage points to 6.5% in January, the first increase since April 2021.
The total number of unemployed people increased by 106,000 (+8.6%) to 1.34 million.
The number of people on temporary lay-off or scheduled to start a job in the near future rose by 120,000 (+130.5%).
The unemployment rate for youth aged 15 to 24 rose 2.5 percentage points to 13.6%.
Women aged 25 to 54 also saw an increase in their unemployment rate (+0.6 percentage points to 5.3%).
The labour force participation rate among the population aged 15 years and older fell 0.4 percentage points to 65.0% in January.
Local Top Line
- January Unemployment Rate: Brantford 6.5% [-] Ontario 7.3% [+] Canada 6.5% [+]
- The local unemployment rate decreased by 1.1 month over month.
- The local labour force contracted by 700 month over month.
- The number of employed increased by 100 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 second 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