More people in the area are working. Stats Canada says in the Kingston to Pembroke area there was a 4.2 per cent increase in the number of people working during the month of July. The coverage area includes Renfrew County and Lanark County. Last year 53.4 per cent of the labour force was working compared to 57.6 percent in 2019. There was also a huge increase in the labour force in our area. Stats Canada says in July of 2018 the labour force was 217,600 people and in one year it jumped up to 235,200. That’s an increase of 17,600 people in the labour force. The population grew to 387,300 with an increase of 3,700 from the same time last year. The numbers from Stats Canada show there’s 12,000 people without jobs in the area. The labour force survey estimates are based on a sample and subject to variability.
