Sault Ste. Marie’s unemployment rate in August was 8.1%, which is slightly above with Provincial and National rates.
Sault Ste. Marie’s Participation and Employment Rates continue to be considerably lower (over 10%) than Provincial and National rates.
Since both the Participation and Employment Rates are based on the overall population (aged 15 and above), the lower rates are mainly attributable to the fact that Sault Ste. Marie has a relatively older population and more people out of the workforce (retired).
Comparing the rates by age group shows that the Participation and Employment rates for the core working aged population (25 to 54) are more in line with Provincial and National rates.
Overall employment fell to 32,700 jobs in August.
Employment in the Goods-Producing sector (Construction and Manufacturing) held steady.
Employment in Services-Producing sector fell, mainly due to decreases in employment in the Retail and Accommodations/Food Services Sectors.
Employment in the Health Care and Social Assistance sector also fell slightly for the first time since the COVID restrictions began.
Comparing current employment levels to July 2020 and July 2019, most sectors have rebounded from lows in 2020 but overall employment is 14% lower than July 2019 (pre-COVID)
The Retail and Education sectors have had the largest decrease in employment
Employment in Healthcare and Public Administration has increased.
Only Job postings continue to be strong for Sault Ste. Marie
An increase in Retail related job postings could be a sign of higher levels of employment in the Retail sector to come.
Occupations related to Healthcare, Drivers and Security also continue to have strong demand.
We are collecting data to better understand who is looking for work and what kind of opportunities jobseekers are searching for. This data is completely anonymous and non-personally identifiable.