Unemployment rate drops, economic growth ‘optimistic’ for Hamilton: report
The local economy has been doing quite well," according to a newly released report from Workforce Planning Hamilton.
The city's unemployment rate has continuously dropped since January, showing a strong recovery from the COVID-19 lockdowns.
We're definitely in a recovery stage" from the pandemic slowdown, Khadija Hamidu, executive director of Workforce Planning Hamilton, told The Spectator.
In July, the unemployment rate for Steeltown was 4.3 per cent, dropping by 0.3 percentage points month over month, a monthly snapshot from the organization showed.
Hamilton's economy in July 2022 was optimistic," noted the report, published Friday following the national jobs report by Statistics Canada.
Hamidu said a lower unemployment rate in Hamilton could mean that you're able to better support yourself with the higher rates of inflation."
However, it doesn't reflect on affordability factors including housing and food, she added. That's why we're trying to encourage a living wage in the Hamilton region."
There were about 18,800 unemployed individuals in Hamilton in July - reduced by 1,400 unemployed people compared to June 2022.
The report showed a month-over-month increase of 3,200 workers joining the workforce in Hamilton, making May through July a good month of economic growth" for the city overall.
The provincial unemployment rate was recorded at a stable 5.3 per cent - one point lower than Hamilton's - and unchanged since June 2022.
Federally, Canada lost jobs for the second month in a row after the Bank of Canada raised the interest rates to combat high inflation.
However, the overall federal unemployment rate stayed at a record low 4.9 per cent, while losing 30,600 positions.
In Hamilton, most employment opportunities were in sales and service occupations - making up 24 per cent of the workforce, followed by business, finance and administration occupations.
The city is home to many small and medium-sized businesses, which is why sales and business jobs make up the majority of Hamilton's occupation type.
Residents looking for jobs in the Hamilton area can check out the organization's job board at workforceplanninghamilton.ca/jobs/.
Ritika Dubey is a reporter at The Spectator. rdubey@thespec.com