December 2019 Labour Market Update

The latest Statistics Canada local labour market report customized for the Brantford CMA for last month is now available.

December Unemployment Rate: Brantford 3.8% [+] Ontario 5.3% [-] Canada 5.6% [-]

Be sure to review the participation rate and the employment rate (reported as percentages), as well as the labour force, the employed, and the unemployed values (reported as absolute numbers). These give a better picture of changes in the market.

Labour Market Reports

The report includes annual rates for the last 10 years, comparing Brantford to surrounding CMAs as well as the provincial and national levels.

Statistics Canada Summary

For Canada and Ontario, Statistics Canada reports that, “In December, employment increased in Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and Prince Edward Island, while a decline was recorded in Newfoundland and Labrador.

There were more employees in the private sector (+57,000 or +0.5%) in December, offsetting a decline of a similar size in November....

In Ontario, employment increased by 25,000 (+0.3%) in December, the result of gains in full-time work. More Ontarians were working in construction and public administration. The unemployment rate in the province decreased 0.3 percentage points to 5.3%.

Employment in construction increased by 17,000 (+1.2%), with British Columbia and Ontario contributing the most to the rise....

In the 12 months to December 2019, employment in Canada increased by 320,000 or 1.7%, a faster pace than that observed over the same period in 2018 (+1.1%). The growth was spread across the first three quarters of the year and was mostly the result of gains in full-time work (+283,000 or +1.9%).

During the year, the unemployment rate declined to 5.4% in May, a record low since comparable data became available in January 1976. At the end of 2019, the rate was 5.6%, the same as in December 2018....

Compared with December 2018, employment in Ontario increased 243,000 (+3.3%), the largest year-over-year increase for the month of December since 1987. Employment gains were mostly in full-time work (+227,000 or +3.8%). There were increases in a number of industries, including professional, scientific and technical services, as well as health care and social assistance. In contrast, there were fewer Ontarians employed in manufacturing in December 2019 compared with December 2018....

In the 12 months to December, employment growth in Canada was driven by the services-producing sector (+367,000 or +2.5%), while there was a decline in the goods-producing sector (-47,000 or -1.2%). The number of employees in both the private and public sectors increased in 2019, while self-employment was little changed.

In the services-producing sector, there were notable increases in professional, scientific and technical services (+86,000), wholesale and retail trade (+77,000), health care and social assistance (+75,000) and finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing (+75,000). Most of the growth in the services sector was in Ontario (+245,000)."

Top Line

• December Unemployment Rate: Brantford 3.8% [+] Ontario 5.3% [-] Canada 5.6% [-]
• The local unemployment rate increased by 0.7 month over month.
• The local labour force contracted by 400 month over month.
• The number of employed decreased by 900 month over month.
• The number of unemployed increased by 600 month over month.
• When compared to the surrounding CMAs of Hamilton, Niagara, Waterloo, Guelph, and London, Brantford’s unemployment rate remains the lowest.

Note: Brantford's unemployment reflects a 3 month moving average, whereas Ontario and Canada are monthly figures. The sample CMA breakdown for Brantford area is detailed in text at the Stats Canada website: http://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p3VD.pl?Function=getVD&TVD=117159&CVD=117161&CPV=543&CST=01012011&CLV=2&MLV=3