Eastern Ont. unemployment rises again

CORNWALL – The region’s jobless rate took another jump in April.

The unemployment rate last month reached 7.3 per cent, up from 7.1 per cent in March.

It’s the fourth month in a row unemployment has increased in the region from Brockville to Ottawa and east to the Quebec border.

The rate has been steadily climbing since December 2015 when it was 5.5 per cent.

Meantime, the national unemployment rate remained steady at 7.1 per cent. There were gains in the service sector but they were wiped out losses in the goods-producing sector.

The country actually lost 2,100 jobs – stats watchers consider that close to zero.

Ontario’s jobless rate edged up two-tenths to 7.0 per cent.