Montreal unemployment rate drops below Toronto’s in January

The unemployment rate in the Montreal region was down slightly in January from the month before, falling below the level in Toronto once again. Unemployment in the region was 6 per cent in January, Statistics Canada said on Friday, down from 6.2 per cent the month before. It was 6.4 per cent in Toronto. The unemployment rate in Montreal was 6.1 per cent in January 2018. However, the number of people working also declined as people left the workforce. The participation rate — the percentage of working-age people employed or actively looking for work — in the Montreal region was 66.6 per cent in January, down from 66.8 per cent the month before and from 67.9 in January 2018. The employment rate dropped from 62.8 per cent in December to 62.6 per cent in January. That was down from 63.8 per cent in January 2018. In Toronto, the participation rate was 66.2 per cent in January and the employment rate was 62.4 per cent. Across the province, the unemployment rate was down slightly from 5.5 per cent to 5.4 per cent — the second-lowest rate in the country, after British Columbia, where the unemployment rate was 4.7 per cent. Employment was up slightly — rising from 61 per cent in December to 61.2 per cent in January — as was the participation rate, which rose from 64.6 per cent to 64.7 per cent during the period. That increase — 16,000 workers — was driven by younger people, Statistics Canada said. Employment was up 0.9 per cent from January 2019 in Quebec.