P.E.I. unemployment rate drops dramatically

The unemployment rate on P.E.I. fell below 10 per cent in June for the first time in more than four years, mostly due to a large number of people leaving the workforce.

Statistics Canada listed the jobless rate for the month of June at 9.8 per cent, the lowest since April of 2010. In May the rate was 12.2 per cent.

The biggest change in the job numbers was in the workforce, which had 1,400 fewer people in it in June as compared to May. The number of jobs was also up, but most of those were part-time. The economy added 500 part-time jobs and 100 full-time jobs.

The workforce of 82,300 is the smallest the Island has seen since October 2012. Both the size of the workforce and the number of jobs on the Island saw significant growth in the last months of 2012 and early in 2013, which then fell off in mid-2013 while still remaining at historically high levels.

This is the second month in a row that job numbers are up, after a decline in the early months of the year.