Gains last month offset by increase in number of job seekers

Greater Sudbury's jobless rate held steady in April at 8.6 per cent, the same as March, but still significantly higher than the same time in 2015, when it was 6.9 per cent.

The city has shed about 3,500 jobs in the last year, according to figures from Statistics Canada on Friday in its month labour force survey. The local economy has been hard hit in recent months with the extended slump in nickel and other commodity prices. Nickel was trading at US$4.12 a pound Friday morning, a far cry from the more than $10 a pound it hit in 2012.

The number of people with jobs last month in Greater Sudbury actually increased to 80,600 from 80,200 in March. But the increase was offset by growth in the size of the labour force, which increased to 88,200 from 87,600.

Sudbury's 8.6-per-cent jobless rate is the highest of any major city in Ontario, StatsCan reported. Barrie is second at 7.9, followed by Toronto, St. Catharines-Niagara and Thunder Bay at 7.5.

Ontario as a whole reported a 6.8-per-cent jobless rate, while the national rate was 7.1 per cent. Across Canada, there were fewer people working in manufacturing — business, building, and other support services — natural resources and agriculture.

These losses were offset by gains in wholesale and retail trade as well as accommodation and food services. Ontario actually gained jobs in April, but the gains were offset by an increase in the size of the labour force.

Employment for youths aged 15 to 24 was virtually unchanged in April, and their unemployment rate was 13.1 per cent, little changed from both the previous month and a year earlier. On a year-over-year basis, employment for this group decreased by 43,000 (-1.7 per cent). Over the same period, the youth population continued to decline (-46,000 or -1.0 per cent).