Statistics Canada says the economy lost 200,000 jobs in January amid stricter public health rules put in place to slow the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
The loss also pushed the unemployment rate to 6.5% in January compared with 6.0% in December.
The Ontario unemployment rate increased to 7.3% in January from 6.1% in December.
Meanwhile, the Quinte region bucked the national and provincial trends with the unemployment rate dropping to 3.9% from 5.4% the month before in the Belleville Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) .
The Belleville CMA consists of Belleville, Quinte West, Tyendinaga/Deseronto, and Stirling-Rawdon.
Quinte Economic Devlopment Commission CEO Chris King isn’t surprised saying the local numbers are reflective of what’s going on within the Quinte region business community particularly the manufacturing sector.
“Where there’s lots of jobs being created, new opportunities. And there’s a lot of companies that are looking to hire or have hired and they’re still looking to grow. So, it’s good news if you’re a job seeker. If you’re out there trying to find a job there’s lots of opportunities out there. Tougher if you’re the business or the employer that’s trying to find the people.”
“Many of the companies are looking at adding new product mandates, adding new production lines, adding new technology and automation. Many are considering plant expansion. And companies that have downsized, a lot of those workers have found, have already found jobs.”
The jobless rates in the Kingston and Peterborough areas were also lower.
