Greater Sudbury’s unemployment rate saw a slight dip last month, down to 7.9 per cent from 8.5 per cent in September.
Greater Sudbury added 600 jobs in October, bringing the employment rate to 79.3 per cent with a labour force of 86,100 people.
Canada’s unemployment rate saw little change in October, down only 0.1 per cent to 8.9 per cent over September, said Statistics Canada in its Labour Force Survey.
The country gained 84,000 jobs, up 0.5 per cent in October, after growing by an average of 2.7 per cent since May.
The number of unemployed Canadians (1.8 million) held steady in the month and was up 683,000 (60.2 per cent) from pre-COVID February levels.
In April, the number of workers directly affected by the COVID-19 economic shutdown peaked at 5.5 million, including a 3.0 million drop in employment and a 2.5 million increase in absences from work.
However, as the Canadian economy continued to recover from the initial COVID-19 economic shutdown, and as new public health restrictions were implemented in some areas in September and October, labour market conditions varied widely across provinces and industries during the week of Oct. 11-17.
Employment increased in five provinces in October — Ontario (up 31,000), British Columbia (up 34,000 jobs), Alberta (up 23,000 jobs), Newfoundland and Labrador (up 5,900) and Prince Edward Island (up 900 jobs) —and held steady in the rest. Consistent with the re-introduction of COVID-19 restrictions in many regions of central Canada, the pace of employment growth slowed in Ontario while no gains were recorded in Quebec.
Most of the employment increase in October was in full-time work (+69,000; +0.5%) and the number of people working part time was virtually unchanged.
Self-employment increased for the first time (up 1.2 per cent or 33,000 jobs) since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Among those who worked at least half their usual hours, the number of Canadians working from home increased by approximately 150,000 in October, while the number working at locations other than home was little changed.
Working from home continues to be an important adaptation to COVID-19 health risks, with 2.4 million Canadians who do not normally work from home doing so in October.
Employment among core-aged women (25 to 54 years old) increased for the sixth consecutive month in October (up 0.7 per cent, or 40,000 jobs), entirely driven by gains in full-time work.
The unemployment rate for core-aged women declined 0.4 percentage points to 6.6 per cent in October, the lowest rate among the major demographic groups.
As the winter months approach, two-thirds of Canadians who were employed in October expressed concern about contracting COVID-19 themselves — either in the workplace or in a public place — or infecting a family member.
