City gains 1,200 jobs in one month, according to StatsCan 2

By Cheryl Browne, Barrie Examiner December 7, 2012 

Barrie gained 1,200 jobs in one month.

The good news out of November’s Labour Force Survey from Statistics Canada indicates that not only did a whole bunch of Barrie’s unemployed gain full-time employment, but unemployment rates have been steadily falling for the past year.

“One hopes it’s a broader trend,” said Mayor Jeff Lehman. “It seems to be bringing us to a much better place than where we were last year.”

Lehman said he knows some of the job growth at this time of year can be seen as seasonal, with hotels, ski resorts and retailers increasing employment before the holidays.

“To that extent, it could be a seasonal blip. We’d have to see three or four or even five months of data to know if it was a seasonal thing,” he said.

However, he did note that with Georgian College’s expansion, Maclean Engineering hiring 100 people and Jebco Industries increasing its staff levels, full-time employment has not passed Barrie by.

“We’re below the provincial (unemployment) average, that’s the first time in a couple of years,” he said.

Ontario filled 32,000 jobs in November and the unemployment rate declined four points from 8.3%.

Vincent Ferrao, of Statistics Canada, agreed with Lehman’s take on the trend.

Of the 111,700 people in Barrie’s labour force — those working or actively looking for work — Ferrao said 103,400 were gainfully employed.

The 8,300 unemployed, or 7.4%, was down significantly from December 2011 when 10.3% of the work force was unemployed.

“It’s been coming down steadily all year,” Ferrao said. “It hasn’t been this low since December 2009 when it was 7.3%.”

The trend is even better when looking back a full calendar year. Barrie was grimly looking at 11.1% or 13,100 people who were unemployed last November compared to this year’s of 7.4%.

So, the downward trend has continued in a positive direction. Comparatively, other Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) with similar-sized populations such as Windsor saw a slight increase, driving their unemployment rate up to 10% from 9.6% last month. Thunder Bay dropped by only .5%.

Across the country, employment increased 1.7% or 294,000 mostly full-time positions were created.

In November, employment increased in Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, Manitoba and P.E.I.

Compared with this time last year, employment in Ontario was up 1.3% — all in full-time positions — but below the national increase of 1.7%.

Barrie’s Service Canada Job Bank (www.jobbank.gc.ca) has 398 mostly full-time jobs listed on its website

“I’m thrilled with what I’m seeing,” said Gloria Evans, a employee and community liaison with Georgian College’s career and employment services office on Collier Street.

Evans said she’s seen growth across most sectors and age groups, including everything from professionals to entry-level apprentice positions.

Noting her phone’s ringing with calls from both employers and employees, she said, “I’m busy on both sides of the counter and that’s encouraging.”