Barrie’s unemployment rate is the lowest it’s been in four months, according to new numbers released by Statistics Canada.
The new stats released on Friday show Barrie’s jobless rate at 7.9 per cent in November. That’s down from 8.5 per cent in October.
This is the lowest the city’s rate has been since July.
The Canadian labour market unexpectedly added 10,700 net jobs last month and the unemployment rate slid to 6.8 per cent -- but the latest numbers raise questions about the quality of the work.
Statistics Canada's November employment survey shows yet another monthly decline in the more-desirable category of full-time work -- a figure more than offset by a gain in part-time jobs.
The report says the market added 19,400 part-time jobs last month and shed 8,700 full-time positions.
Compared with November 2015, Canada gained 183,200 jobs overall for an increase of 0.1 per cent -- but over that period full-time work fell by 30,500 positions, while the part-time category piled up an additional 213,700 jobs.
Last month's data did beat the expectations of a consensus of economists, who had predicted Canada to shed 20,000 positions in November and for the jobless rate to stay at seven per cent, according to Thomson Reuters.
The jobs report says the unemployment rate dropped to 6.8 per cent from seven per cent because fewer people were searching for work.
With files from The Canadian Press.
