WASHINGTON: Chatham-Kent unemployment was up 0.4 per cent from December to January and is now the same as the provincial average of 6.4 per cent. It’s also 2.6 per cent less than it was last January, the lowest rate for the month in the last ten years. “It’s trending in a positive direction,” said Mayor Randy Hope. “I remember at one time we were above 15 per cent unemployment rate. When you take our employment rate has dropped from 15 down to 6.4 per cent … in ten years we’ve done a lot of good.”
Unemployment is usually higher in Chatham-Kent during winter months and lowest during mid-fall. In November the rate dipped as low as 5.8 per cent, below both Windsor-Essex and Sarnia-Lambton. Since then minor upticks have Chatham-Kent’s unemployment slightly higher than Windsor-Essex. It is still lower than Sarnia-Lambton, which saw unemployment jump back up to 7.7 per cent over December and January. From November to January Ontario’s overall unemployment remained relatively stable, dipping 0.2 per cent in December but rising 0.2 per cent a month later. “When you look year over year you get a better understanding … you can see better trends.” said Kristy Jacobs, project manager with the Chatham-Kent Workforce Planning Board. “There’s a lot of great work going on in the community; maybe not that you can see, but things going on behind the scenes.”
According to Jacobs there haven’t been any major hiring sprees or investments in the municipality in the last year, at least none that would precipitate the increase in employment. Instead the Workforce Planning Board is seeing steady growth among small businesses. Other factors play into unemployment beyond a healthy job market. The number of people considered “working class” in Chatham has likely dropped over the last decade, for instance, as the population has slipped and people have aged. But some believe population estimates from 2011 to 2016, released earlier this year, do not reflect a population uptick in 2016 — which make January’s unemployment numbers even more significant.
In total the number of people employed in Chatham-Kent from December to January dipped from about 50,000 people to about 49,400 people. “A lot of those are seasonal,” Jacobs said. “Anywhere up to a 0.4 to 0.5 per cent fluctuation is pretty normal. When it stays steady, that’s when people start to get nervous.” For Hope it’s more about the big picture. Unemployment numbers are good, he said, but it’s more important to focus on returning industry and population growth. “We need to be in better shape,” Hope said. “If our unemployment rate is down that low we can attract employers here, we can attract more people here, we can continue to diversify our community, we keep our young people coming back … but I think we’re on the right track.”
