The Kootenay Unemployment Rate continues to climb.
The Statistics Canada report for April says the rate was 6.3 per cent.
That’s an increase 6-10th’s of a percent from March, when it came in at 5.7 per cent.
According to the national service, there were almost 2,000 more Kootenay residents with jobs, compared to the month before and about 7,000 more people looking for jobs in the region.
Stats Can says the Kootenay work force increased from 80,700 in March to 82,600 in April.
The number of month-to-month job seekers went up from 4,900 to 5,600.
The regional rate has increased 2.6 per cent since January, when it was 3.7 per cent.
National Outlook
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate in Canada has risen to 6.9 per cent.
Statistics Canada says the rate rose 0.2 per cent in April, with the number of unemployed people, either looking for work or on temporary layoff, increased by nearly 40,000 during the month – and was up nearly 14 per cent on a year-over-year basis.
Officials add employment fell in manufacturing as the industry continues to face uncertainty related to tariffs on exports to the U-S. Ontario posted the largest decline in the industry among provinces with 33,000 jobs lost in April.
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