Unemployment up in Eastern Ontario in December

SD&G – The region’s unemployment rate was up two-tenths of a percent in December.

Statistics Canada says December’s jobless rate for Eastern Ontario was 4.4 per cent, compared to 4.2 per cent in November.

The rate covers an area from Brockville to Ottawa and east to the Quebec border.

While unemployment was up, in Cornwall, more people were working last month compared to December 2017.

The employment rate was 55 per cent compared to 51 per cent during the same month the year before.

The unemployment rate for December 2018 was 5.5 per cent but was suppressed in December 2017 because the labour force sample size did not meet the confidentiality threshold.