Greater Sudbury’s unemployment rate for September edged downward to 8.5 per cent, dropping one-tenth of a percentage from August, Statistics Canada said in its monthly Labour Force Survey.
There were 78,700 Sudburians employed in September, while 7,300 Sudburians reported they were unemployed.
Canada’s unemployment rate declined for the fourth consecutive month in September, falling 1.2 percentage points to nine per cent. As a result of the COVID-19 economic shutdown, the unemployment rate more than doubled from 5.6 per cent in February to a record high 13.7 per cent in May.
By way of comparison, during the 2008/2009 recession, the unemployment rate rose from 6.2 per cent in October 2008 to peak at 8.7 per cent in June 2009. It then took approximately nine years to return to its pre-recession rate.
Employment in the country rose by 378,000 in September, bringing employment to within 720,000 of its pre-COVID February level.
There were 1.8 million unemployed Canadians in September, down 214,000 (or 10.5 per cent) from August and continuing the four-month downward trend from the record-high 2.6 million unemployed people in May.
The majority of unemployed people (approximately 1.5 million) were job searchers, while 363,000 Canadians were either on temporary layoff, and expected to return to a previous job within six months, or had arrangements to begin a new job within four weeks.
The number of people who wanted to work but did not search for a job was down 11.8 per cent in September. If people in this group were included as unemployed, the adjusted unemployment rate would be 11.9 per cent.
Most of the employment increase in September was in full-time work, which rose by 334,000, building on gains of 206,000 in August.
Employment continued to increase in both the services-producing (303,000 jobs) and the goods-producing (75,000 jobs) sectors in September. In services, monthly gains were led by accommodation and food services (72,000 jobs), educational services (68,000 jobs) as well as information, culture and recreation (56,000 jobs). In the goods sector, employment gains were largest in manufacturing (68,000 jobs).
As the Canadian economy continues to recover and adapt to the impacts of COVID-19, some industries face a longer path to recovery than others. Compared with February, total employment in September was down 720,000 (-3.7%), with three-quarters of this decline coming from four industries: accommodation and food services, retail trade, construction, and transportation and warehousing.
Economists had expected a slower pace of job gains in September following the trajectory over the summer. Canada's labour market gained 240,000 jobs in August, a slowing from the 418,500 jobs gained in July.
Employment increased in every province except New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island in September, with the largest gains in Ontario and Quebec.
Employment in Ontario increased by 168,000 in September ( up 2.4 per cent), largely in full-time work, and building on gains of 670,000 over the previous three months. The largest employment gains in September were in accommodation and food services, manufacturing, and educational services. The unemployment rate fell 1.1 percentage points to 9.5 per cent, the fourth consecutive monthly decline.
-With files from The Canadian Press
