Unemployment drop to close out 2021

CORNWALL – The regional unemployment rate for Eastern Ontario dropped a half per cent in December.

Statistics Canada says the rate for the area from Brockville to Ottawa and east to Quebec was 4.1 per cent in December, compared to 4.6 per cent the month before.

It hasn’t been this low since February and March 2020 when it was 4 and 5 per cent respectively.

In Cornwall, the rate of employment dropped 0.6 per cent to 48.8 per cent. While fewer people were working, the numbers suggest the labour force shrunk by 1,300 which led to an overall percentage of people employed, leading to a lower unemployment rate.

The Eastern Ontario unemployment rate was below Ontario as the provincial rate dropped to 6 per cent in December compared to 6.4 the month before.

Across Canada, the unemployment rate slipped 0.1 per cent in December to 5.9 per cent as 55,000 jobs were added to the economy with more people working full time.