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Sudbury sheds jobs, workforce dips in May

Greater Sudbury's jobless rate edged upwards in May, with declines both in the number of people working and looking for work. However, at 6.7 per cent, the city is still ahead of last year at the same time, when the rate stood at 7.5 per cent.
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Ontario shed 33,900 jobs in June, a trend reflected in Greater Sudbury, where the unemployment rate jumped to seven per cent, up from 6.7 per cent in May. File photo.
Greater Sudbury's jobless rate edged upwards in May, with declines both in the number of people working and looking for work.

However, at 6.7 per cent, the city is still ahead of last year at the same time, when the rate stood at 7.5 per cent. But it represents a significant jump compared to April's rate of 6.2 per cent.

And in April, Sudbury's workforce was estimated at 87,000, of whom 81,600 were employed, either part or full time. In May, the size of the workforce dipped to 86,900, of whom 81,000 had jobs.

In other parts of the province, Thunder Bay reported a jobless rate of 5.8 per cent, unchanged from April, while in Barrie, the rate was 7.2 per cent in May, up 0.1 per cent. Ontario as a whole reported a rate of 7.4 per cent, unchanged from April.

Across Canada, Statistics Canada said employment edged up by 26,000 in May, driven by gains in part-time work. The unemployment rate increased 0.1 percentage points to 7.0 per cent, thanks to an increase in the number of people in the labour market.

“Overall employment growth has been subdued since August 2013,” said a release from StatsCan.

In the last 12 months, employment in Canada has increased by 86,000 or 0.5 per cent, with all the growth in part-time work. Over the same period, the number of hours worked was little changed.

There were more employed men and women aged 15 to 24 in May. However, this was partly offset by fewer employed men aged 25 to 54. There were more people working in educational services, accommodation and food services, and in agriculture. At the same time, there were fewer people working in natural resources, as well as in finance, insurance, real estate and leasing.

“On a year-over-year basis, all of the employment growth was in the private sector, while there was little change in the public sector and in self-employment,” StatsCan said.

From May to August, the Labour Force Survey collects labour market data about youths aged 15 to 24 who were attending school full time in March and who intend to return to school full time in the fall.

The May survey results provide the first indicators of the summer job market, especially for students aged 20 to 24, as many students aged 15 to 19 are still in school.

The data for June, July and August will provide further insight into the summer job market. The published data are not seasonally adjusted, therefore, comparisons can only be made from one year to another.

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