BROCKVILLE – Eastern Ontario’s jobless rate has jumped for a third straight month, rising above seven per cent for the first time since last summer.
The unemployment rate for March in the region from Brockville to Ottawa and east to Quebec was 7.1 per cent, up from 6.5 per cent in February.
The rate has steadily risen since December when it was 5.5 per cent.
The last time the rate was north of seven per cent was August 2015.
Nationally, a surge in full-time, private-sector work saw the unemployment rate drop to 7.1 per cent in March from 7.3 per cent in February.
There was a gain of 40,600 jobs – 35,300 of them were full-time.
Ontario added 13,900 jobs in March as the jobless rate stayed steady at 6.8 per cent.