The Stats Canada jobs data for Sault Ste. Marie appear to be showing some of the initial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The numbers are based on an unadjusted 3 month moving average.
While the unemployment rate is down compared to May of a year ago, the participation rate and employment rate are also down as is the employment level.
The unemployment rate came in at 8.2% which is down more than 1-and-a-half percent compared to May 2019.
The participation rate fell almost 6% to 53.4 while the employment rate dropped more than 3-and-a-half percent to 49.2%
The employment level was down 25-hundred to 32-thousand-600.