The local unemployment rate remains very close to where it was a year ago. The jobless rate for the economic region that includes Renfrew and Lanark Counties reached six percent for August. That’s down from 6.2 in August of 2018 and up from last month’s 5.1 percent. However, economists say month to month comparisons are problematic because of seasonal factors. Nation wide, the unemployment rate sits at a four decade low at 5.7 percent.
