The Brantford area job market held steady in September and even recovered some lost ground.
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Brantford-Brant’s jobless rate last month was 4.7 per cent, a small drop from August’s 4.8 per cent, according to Statistics Canada’s seasonally adjusted numbers released Friday.
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Norfolk’s job numbers showed the jobless rate hovering around 4.5 per cent over the last few months.
Canadian employment grew by 64,000 in September, though the national jobless rate remained unchanged at 5.5 per cent. Ontario added some jobs but the unemployment rate still nudged up to six per cent.
The Brantford area has the lowest unemployment rate compared to the nearby communities of Hamilton, St. Catharines-Niagara, London, Guelph and Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo.
After shrinking in recent months, the overall size of the labor pool increased in Brantford in September.
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“Hopefully, the number of people who are active in the labor force, working or looking for work, continue to improve, reversing the recent negative trend,” said Danette Dalton, executive director of the Workforce Planning Board of Grand Erie. “It’s good to remind people that there are many opportunities out there.”
A Fall Job Fair involving representatives from about 35 businesses that are hiring will be held on Wednesday at Brantford’s Best Western Hotel and Conference Centre, from 3 pm to 5 pm The job fair is organized by three local employment centers and the Workforce Planning Board.
Job seekers attending the fair are encouraged to dress for success and bring their resumes. Some employers will be doing on-the-spot interviews.
A list of participating businesses can be found at st-leonards.com/events/fall-job-fair-2023 .
September saw more than 2,300 new job postings appear on Grand Erie Jobs, the community’s job board operated by the Workforce Planning Board.
The average wage listed in job posts was about $24 an hour in September, which is similar to recent months but $1.80 more than September 2022.
The Workforce Planning Board, funded in part by the federal and provincial governments, is one of 26 non-profit organizations in Ontario that play a role in labor force planning.
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