Windsor's population climbed, its labour force shrunk, and the local economy shed 2,400 jobs in February.
Statistics Canada's Labour Force Survey for February pinned the city's unemployment rate at 7.4 per cent last month, an increase of two-tenths of a percentage point from January.
According to Friday's report, the Windsor Metropolitan Census Area's population increased from 321,700 to 322,900. The number of those employed or looking for work slipped by 2,200, and the economy in the Windsor CMA lost 2,400 jobs.
Population growth outstripped job growth across Canada in February with a 0.1 per cent net increase in 41,000 positions, as the Canadian population grew 0.3 per cent. That pushed the unemployment rate up 0.1 per cent to 5.8 per cent, offsetting January's decline in the metric.
While employment in accommodation and food services grew, there were losses in educational services and manufacturing.
The Conference Board of Canada noted those working for themselves accounted for job growth. It barely changed in the public and private sectors.
It also commented on the pressure of interest rates on the job market.
"Job growth is weak, and labour force participation rates have slipped," it said. "Yet, thankfully, signs of stress in the labour market remain relatively muted. Layoffs have not surged, and the increase in the unemployment rate over the last six months has been relatively modest. With excess labour demand trimmed, today, the job market finds itself on a more balanced footing compared to a year ago."
For Ontario, there was little change in the employment rate. It was 60.6 per cent, but the population increased by 2.5 per cent or 316,00 people. The jobless rate in February increased by 0.3 per cent from January to 6.5 per cent.
Since this month's report came out on International Women's Day, Statistics Canada pulled data specific to women. About 9.7 million women are working, making up 47.3 per cent of the workforce. The employment rate for women aged 25 to 54 is 81.4 per cent, down slightly from the record set in January and March 2023 when it peaked at 82 per cent.
The gender wage gap is slowly closing but remains persistent. Overall, women make $0.87 for every dollar earned by a man. The discrepancy is more pronounced in male-dominated fields like manufacturing utilities. It's 22.4 per cent less. In female-dominated industries like healthcare, it's only 1.6 per cent.
Women fill 35.3 per cent of all management positions nationwide.
The total number of hours spent working didn't change much for Canadians. It hasn't since June 2023. Year over year, however, it rose 1.3 per cent.
The average hourly wage continues to climb, up 5 per cent from February 2023, an increase of $1.66 to $34.82.