The local unemployment rate in the Belleville-Quinte West Census Metropolitan Area skyrocketed in January, however, as previously indicated to Quinte News, it may not be accurate.
The rate for the local CMA which includes Belleville, Quinte West, Deseronto-Tyendinaga and Stirling-Rawdon, climbed to 8.3 per cent last month from just 3.3 in December.
In November it was 1.8 per cent.
The CEO of the Quinte Economic Development Commission, Chris King told Quinte News late last year that the current sample size for the Belleville CMA is not accurate which is why numbers are fluctuating so much.
He says the Labour Force Survey is being redesigned in 2025 and will be based on 2021 census data, which should reduce variability.
The national unemployment rate ticked down 0.1 percentage points to 6.6 per cent as Canada’s labour market added 76,000 jobs in January, beating economist expectations.
In Ontario, the unemployment rate rose one-tenth to 7.6 per cent.
