A local employment researcher says the jobs picture for the Sault isn’t as bad as reflected in the latest numbers from Stats Canada.
The unemployment rate for June came in at 11.1% marking the second straight month of double digits.
Jonathan Coulman is the executive director of the Algoma Workforce Investment Corporation and he says there is a lag in the numbers…

It also means that the low unemployment rate numbers seen late last year weren’t quite as good as the numbers suggested at the time when you consider that the employment rate was also dropping.
The unemployment rate fell as low as 3.3% in December.
Coulman believes the jobless rate has reached its peak and there’s indications that there is an increasing number of jobs being added when you look at online job postings and the employment centre has also reported an abundance of postings and not enough job seekers to fill them…

Coulman believes the high unemployment level can be partly attributed to a change in the retail landscape which included the closure of the downtown Walmart.