Labour Market Bulletin Thunder Bay

Labour Market Bulletin, First Quarter 2006
An Analysis of the Thunder Bay Area Labour Market
Service Canada

An overview of the Thunder Bay Area Labour Market

The impact of the on-going crisis in the forestry industry continues to be felt in the Thunder Bay and Northwestern Ontario labour markets.

Closures continued throughout the region in the first quarter of 2006. Neenah Papers closed its mill in Terrace Bay due to a strike by its forestry workers. Bowater announced the closure of its “A” kraft mill. Sturgeon Timber in Dorion closed. The latter closure illustrated the domino effect of the forestry crisis: the company provided chips for the Bowater and Neenah Papers mills and their shutdown left the sawmill with little market for its product.

Given the diminishing pulp and paper and forestry industries, the city of Thunder Bay is interested in encouraging new industrial players for the city. In that vein, city council committed funding for a proposed medical research centre. The proposed centre would, according to its supporters, create hundreds of direct and indirect jobs for the city.

Employment Insurance claim load totals increased in the first quarter however, they fell short of the levels of the first quarter of 2005. The full impact of the forestry crisis may not be reflected in the claim load until the second quarter.

The region did see an increase in advertised opportunities this quarter. Totals are significantly higher than the same period last year.

EI claim load increases in first quarter

Remains lower year over year

Opportunities rebound in first quarter of 2006

Significantly higher year over year.

In the Labour Force Survey:

• Weakness continues in Thunder Bay
  

  Unemployment rate jumps to 8.1%

• Northwest continues to trend downward
  

  Second-highest unemployment rate among Ontario Economic Regions

The complete Labour Market Bulletin, including these Highlights, is available in Adobe Acrobat PDF format, print version (size: 860 kb)

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