The following article appeared in the May 11 edition of the Guelph Mercury:
Guelph’s unemployment rate continues to stand at 5.4 per cent – the lowest rate in Ontario.
According to the April unemployment figures released by Stats Canada, Guelph’s unemployment rate was unchanged from its March rate. In Canada, only Regina (3.8 percent); Victoria and Quebec City (3.8 per cent); Calgary (5.1 per cent) and Edmonton (5.3 per cent) had lowered rates than Guelph.
Canada’s economy surprised again in April, turning out another stellar month of employment growth, adding 58,200 jobs as Canadians found work in most regions of the country and in most goods-producing industries.
Still, the unemployment rate edged up one-tenth of a point to 7.3 per cent, but that was because even more people went looking for work last month.
The big gains last month following the stunning 82,000 increase in March changes the picture for Canada’s labour market, which prior to March had been mostly stagnant since the summer.
Following March’s mammoth gains, analysts had expected only modest movement in employment this month. Instead, April turned out to be almost as strong, and even stronger in the details.
And unlike the previous month, when most of the new jobs were concentrated in Central Canada, this time the gains were spread across the country with employment rising in the Atlantic region, Quebec and the West, although Ontario, Nova Scotia and Manitoba suffered minor job losses.