It wasn’t much, but the drop in the unemployment rate by 0.1 per cent in April from March is a move in the right direction for the local economy.
The rate in April, the most recent month for which the municipality has figures, sat at an even seven per cent.
Stuart McFadden, acting director of economic development for the municipality, said the drop may be small, but he’ll take the fact it headed south.
“We’re happy the unemployment rate continues to decline. It’s consistent with what we’re hearing with the companies we’re working with,” he said. “They’re continuing to hire and are working with us to find workers.”
He said a number of local firms are in the midst of expansion, and “those expansions will be creating more jobs.”
McFadden said job growth at one business was so steep that it went out of town in an attempt to find workers.
“We’ve had one company that has held a job fair in Windsor trying to attract additional people to meet their needs. That’s a little concerning, but we understand,” he said. “Maybe we’ll have some more people move to Chatham-Kent and buy some homes. I look at it as a positive.”
Across the region, the jobless rate remained steady at 6.5 per cent, while provincially it increased 0.2 per cent to 6.4 per cent.
A year ago, the unemployment rate in Chatham-Kent sat at 8.5 per cent.
