Once again, the unemployment rate in Windsor was the highest in the country as the local economy shed 200 jobs and the population grew by 1,000.
According to Statistics Canada's Labour Force Survey for December, the local jobless rate increased by a half percentage point from November to 8.1 per cent.
The population grew from 319,600 in November to 320,600, meaning more people were looking for work in Windsor with fewer jobs to go around. The number of unemployed grew from 15,200 to 16,100.
The Labour Participation Rate in the city didn't change. It remains 62.4 per cent.
Nationally, the Labour Participation Rate dipped 0.2 percentage points to 65.4 per cent from a peak of 65.7 in June. Statistics Canada says youth participation accounted for most of that decline.
The December survey recorded virtually no change in employment across Canada. It dipped 0.2 percentage points.
Much like Windsor, the national population grew. Another report by Statistics Canada showed a 1.2 per cent increase, or 430,635, between July 1 and September 30, 2023.
The national unemployment rate was steady at 5.8 per cent.
Employment in professional, scientific and technical services grew by 24,000 positions, 16,000 in healthcare and social services, and "other services" by 12,000. Those gains were offset by the loss of 21,000 jobs in wholesale and retail trade and 18,000 in manufacturing.
Ontario saw the loss of 48,000 positions in December as the jobless rate increased by 0.2 percentage points to 6.3 per cent.
The total number of hours Canadians toiled increased by 0.4 percentage points in December, or 1.7 per cent from a year ago, while average hourly wages climbed 5.4 per cent, or by $1.78 to $34.45.
Statistics Canada also reported the number of Canadians earning extra cash through ride or delivery services-based apps grew significantly last year. Another 44,000 joined the ranks of Uber and other ride-sharing services, up 48.1 per cent to 135,000. For services like Skip the Dishes and DoorDash, it was up 19.2 per cent from 2022 to 272,000. Six out of ten workers are recent immigrants.
