Overall, the Labour Force Survey data for October 2022 is indicating a tighter labour market where unemployment level and at an all-time low and employment level (available workers) are declining. There is a decreased in the majority of sectors of employment mainly in service sector industries and job posting levels are slightly declining over the past 3 months.
Unemployment Rate
- Sault Ste. Marie’s unemployment rate in October 2022 was suppressed, meaning that the number of unemployed individuals is under the confidentiality threshold of 1,500 individuals. (Canada 5.2%, Ontario 5.9%).
- October 2022 is the lowest recorded unemployment rate over the last 4 years for Sault Ste. Marie.
- This represents a drop from 3.7% in September 2022 and is lower than last year’s high of 7.3% in October 2021.
Participation Rate
- Sault Ste. Marie’s participation rate in October 2022 was 56.6% (Canada 64.9%, Ontario 64.9%).
- The participation rate dropped 4.8 percentage points from 61.4% in September 2022.
- Notably, the participation rate remains higher than the previous year’s participation rate of 52.1% in October 2021.
Employment Rate
- Sault Ste. Marie’s employment rate in October 2022 was 54.5% (Canada 61.1%, Ontario 61.1%).
- The employment rate dropped 4.7 percentage points from 59.2% in September 2022.
- Notably, the current employment rate is similar to the pre-pandemic rate of 55.6% in October 2019 and slightly below the 4-year average trend.
Employment Levels
- Sault Ste. Marie’s total employment is 36,300 for October 2022 for 15 years and over.
- A total decrease in employment of 5,200 (-13%) from August 2022.
- The current employment is similar to the pre-pandemic level of 37,00 in October 2019 and currently slightly below the average trend.
Job Postings
- There was a total of 1,852 online job postings in Sault Ste. Marie and 2,439 in Algoma for the month of October 2022.
- Overall, the total number of job postings has been decreasing over the past 4 months.
You can find the whole summary in the following pdf.
October 2022 Labour Force Survey Highlights.