report released on Wednesday from Ontario’s financial accountability officer (FAO) shows Guelph’s employment in 2021 returned to levels seen prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.The Royal City is among only a handful of major cities in the province that can make that claim, with the others being London, Peterborough, Toronto and the Ottawa-Gatineau area.
Ontario’s labour market rebounds to pre-pandemic levels but recovery uneven, report shows In the report, the financial watchdog points to gains in professional, scientific and technical services that helped Guelph’s employment rise above the pre-pandemic level by 1.3 per cent.Executive director of the Workforce Planning Board of Waterloo Wellington Dufferin Charlene Hofbauer said it is clear that Guelph’s labour market is rebounding faster than the province.“Guelph seemed to be a little different than the rest of the province going into the pandemic and even the year before the pandemic.
Guelph had very low unemployment rates, very high participation rates,” she said.The participation rate measures the proportion of the working-age population that is working or looking for work.
As of January 2022, Guelph’s participation rate sits close to 70 per cent and is one of the highest in the province.“So people are motivated to work and be engaged.