Local unemployment numbers in the Belleville-Quinte West Census Metropolitan Area for the month of May have been released by Statistics Canada.

The number for the Belleville Census Metropolitan Area, which includes Belleville, Quinte West, Deseronto-Tyendinaga and Stirling-Rawdon, rose to 4.1 per cent in May, up from April’s 1.9.

Quinte Economic Development Commission CEO Chris King noted to Quinte News that the current sample size for the Belleville CMA is not accurate which is why the numbers fluctuate for our region.

The national jobless rate rose to seven per cent last month, up a tenth of a point from April.

StatCan says that marks the highest unemployment rate since 2016 outside the pandemic years.

In Ontario, the unemployment rate is at 7.9 per cent.

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