The unemployment situation in Prescott-Russell showed mixed and modest statistics in May, according to the Eastern Ontario Training Board (EOTB).
May brought a small lift in Prescott-Russell, but the bigger picture stays soft. Job postings rose 7.6 per cent from April, to 398. Still, postings are down 14.2 per cent from a year ago. A one-month rise like this looks like seasonal hiring, not a recovery. The regional unemployment rate rose for a second straight month, to 5.2 per cent, an early hint the job market may be cooling. Health care and retail dominate local hiring, together making up nearly half of all postings. The unemployment rate for all of Eastern Ontario in May was 4.7 per cent. The unemployment rate for all of Ontario in May was 7 per cent.
The EOTB reported that in May, there were 398 job postings in Prescott-Russell, and 1,570 residents of the two counties were receiving Employment Insurance benefits (EI). The median advertised wage in the region in May was $22.60 per hour.
The top three hiring industries in Prescott-Russell in May were health care and social assistance at 24.7 per cent, followed by retail at 23.4 per cent. At third, was 8.8 per cent for accommodation and food services.
The top occupation trade in Prescott-Russell in May was sales and service at 35.4 per cent. In second was trades and transport at 18.1 per cent, followed by health at 14.8 per cent.
The three organizations doing the most hiring in May were Hawkesbury and District General Hospital (HGH), Walmart, and the Conseil scolaire de district catholique de l’Est ontarien (CSDCEO).
