June joblessness in the Stratford-Bruce Peninsula region fell 0.3 percentage points to 5.6%, the second-lowest rate in Ontario, while total employment held at 168,200.
A 500-person drop in the labour force and a 900-person rise in people outside it pushed the participation rate down 0.3 points to 60.1%, helping drive the lower unemployment rate.
Full-time jobs rose by 3,400 and offset a 3,300 decline in part-time work; goods-producing employment gained 1,900, led by manufacturing and agriculture, while services lost 1,900.
Health care and social assistance shed 2,300 jobs in June, extending a four-month slide from 27,900 in February to 17,200, a trend local labour officials called alarming for regional services.
Ontario’s unadjusted unemployment rate also fell 0.3 points to 7.1%, and the broader Bruce-Grey-Huron-Perth area had just over 1,000 job postings.