The local unemployment rate hit a six-month high in January, moving to 6.8 per cent from 6.4 percent from December, according to data released Friday by Statistics Canada.
Brantford and nearby Hamilton were the only two area communities to see unemployment rate increases last month.
And, while the unemployment rate rose, the employment numbers dropped.
Danette Dalton, executive director of the Workforce Planning Board of Grand Erie, said the dip was inevitable after local numbers for employment hit a two-year high at the end of 2022.
“We’ve seen some very strong numbers in recent months for both total employment and more residents participating in the labor force,” Dalton said in a news release.
“This has helped ease concerns over the jobless rate. Now, unfortunately, we’ve seen some of those gains erode.”
According to Statistics Canada data, the local employment rate of 65.7 per cent is higher than all neighboring communities.
The jobless rate for Ontario dropped to 5.2 per cent last month as the province saw an increase of about 63,000 jobs.
And, nationally, the jobless rate held steady at five per cent, which is just a decimal point higher than the record low, Statistics Canada said.
The Canadian economy smashed expectations by adding a net 150,000 jobs in January,
Dalton noted that the number of postings on the Grand Erie Jobs jobs board, which had dipped in recent months, rebounded in January with 2,900 new regional postings for Brantford, Brant, Haldimand and Norfolk counties, Six Nations of the Grand River and Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.
Employers are seeking workers in the fields of health care and social assistance, including posting for nurses and personal support and social workers.
More than 700 such jobs were posted in January, the highest level since the planning board launched the job board in 2020.
The planning board is one of 26 such agencies that play a part in labor force planning for the province.
@EXPSGamble