The chief executive officer of Workforce WindsorEssex calls the unemployment rate for the region "a little deceiving."
Justin Falconer says we have new residents outpacing job growth, but at the same time, we still have a strong demand for jobs.
He says 700 new jobs were created in June, but we also saw the arrival of 1,200 working-age residents last month.
"I guess that's good news that people want to move here; it's also good news that we're creating jobs every month," he says. "We're at a near-all-time high for the number of people employed in the area, but at the same time, we have more and more people with expectations for getting that job. So that's contributing to more people looking and a higher unemployment rate."
According to unemployment figures released Friday by Statistics Canada, the jobless rate in the Windsor area rose to 9.1 percent in June, up from 8.5 percent in May.
The figure remains the highest unemployment rate in Canada, well below the national rate of 6.4 percent.
According to Workforce WindsorEssex, there were 6,317 total active job postings across the region in June from 2,185 companies, an increase of 8 percent in total active job postings from the previous month.
Falconer says there's no doubt people are choosing Windsor for a lot of reasons.
"Manufacturing was up around 500 jobs month-over-month; that's always a good sign. Construction is up 600 jobs from last month. The jobs we want to have in the area—the jobs that pay well that families want to keep and have and have benefits—are on offer here, so I think there's some good news there," he says.
Falconer says Windsor is hiring, there's no doubt, but the unemployment number doesn't tell the whole story.
"Yeah, it's a little deceiving. We just simply have new residents outpacing job growth, but at the same time, we still have a strong demand for jobs. Employers like markets like this where there is seemingly high unemployment because that means they can get the workers they need," he says.
According to Workforce WindsorEssex, 190,900 were employed in the area in June.
Overall, Statistics Canada says the national economy lost 1,400 jobs in June as the unemployment rate climbed to its highest level in more than two years.
The overall loss in the number of jobs came as the economy lost 3,400 full-time positions, offset in part by a gain of 1,900 part-time jobs.
Statistics Canada says the number of people working in transportation and warehousing fell by 11,700, while those in public administration dropped by 8,800.
The accommodation and food services sector added 17,200 jobs, and the number of those working in agriculture grew by 12,300.
