Jobless rate drops by one per cent but there's more to the story: Workforce Planning Board says

The jobless rate in Brantford and Brant dropped by one per cent in November.

But while some may see that as encouraging, the executive director of the Workforce Planning Board says there’s more to the local job market story.

“The decrease in the unemployment rate may appear encouraging at first glance, but the reality is more complex,” Danette Dalton said in a statement. “The rise in the number of residents stepping out of the labour force shows the difficult circumstances many people are facing.”

Dalton said the number of Brantford area residents not in the labour force – neither working nor looking for work – jumped by an estimated 2,400 in November. The labour force shrunk even as population grew by 300.

Seasonally adjusted figures from Statistics Canada show the jobless rate in Bra