#UNIGNORABLE Issue: Unemployment

Unemployment is an #UNIGNORABLE issue in your community, and COVID-19 is making it is even harder for local businesses stay open, let alone hire.

The City of Peterborough’s unemployment numbers increased in October 2020, maintaining one of the highest rates among Canadian cities.

According to Statistics Canada data released on Friday, Peterborough’s unemployment rate for October was 11.7 per cent — up from 11.2 per cent reported in September. That places the city second behind Edmonton at 12.0 per cent.

Statistics show the top three growing occupations in Peterborough, 2016 – 2021
1. Customer and information services representatives
2. Food counter attendants and kitchen helpers
3. Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates

Through our extensive research, a living wage in Peterborough is $17.63. That’s based on a family of 2 parents & 2 children with both parents working full time.

Please click to the photo to your right to read more from the Living Wage Report and please be an advocate for employment opportunities in your community to help make this #UNIGNORABLE. This report has details on how you can become a Living Wage Employer.

We fund a number of agencies that help with unemployment in Peterborough. Click here to see the full list of partner agencies we fund. We work hard to raise funds for these agencies, so they can focus on closing the gap on the unemployment rates here in Peterborough.

Below is a powerful video that shines a light on unemployment.

Thank you to Chex News on Global Peterborough for their generous in-kind partnership with this video.


About the PERI Group

The Precarious Employment Research Initiative (PERI) is a collaborative project among many community partners interested in better understanding the employment and working conditions of workers in our community.

This project was initiated by Peterborough Public Health and expanded to include City of PeterboroughPeterborough and District Labour CouncilLiteracy Ontario Central SouthPeterborough Workers’ Action CentreTrent Community Research CentreUnited Way of PeterboroughWorkforce Development Board and Trent University psychology professor and researcher, Dr. Fergal O’Hagan with support from the Poverty and Employment Precarity in Southern Ontario(PEPSO) research project. To learn more about Decent Work Peterborough, click here.

The PERI Reports

Social Posts

💜 Today we celebrate International Women’s Day!

Across Canada, women are leading change by strengthening communities, advocating for equity, and creating opportunities for everyone to thrive.

At United Way Peterborough & District, we’re proud to invest in gender equality to support women’s economic empowerment and reduce financial stress. 🌟
“With happy feet, our goal we’ll meet” - Paul Rellinger, 2026 

Learn more about how to get involved with the final push of our Community Campaign at the link in our bio!
Local love, legendary flavour! 🍕

Domino’s Pizza and United Way Peterborough & District are teaming up to deliver the most delicious way to give back this March!

Beginning today, when you make a donation to United Way Peterborough at participating Domino’s Pizza locations, you’ll receive a coupon for a FREE Cheesy Bread. Yep, you read that right you give back to your community and treat yourself to one of Domino’s fan-favourite sides. Total win-win!

Offer ends March 29th, so stop by a participating location to make a donation and get your cheesy bread, today:

📍 Domino’s - 550 Lansdowne St West
📍 Domino’s - 1774 Lansdowne St West
📍 Domino’s - 1091 Chemong Rd

Give back. Dig in. 🍕💙
And that’s a wrap on PTBO Performs VI 🎶🥹! Thank you so much to everyone who made this incredible night possible. More exciting news to come next week❤️.
We can’t wait to see you tomorrow from 7-11PM @ptboshowplace for PTBO Performs VI! Tickets are still available online and at the box office! See you there 🧡🕺
Every child deserves the chance to succeed. 🏆

Bullying affects schools, homes, workplaces, and the digital world.

United Way Centraides invests $39.1M in kids' emotional wellbeing and partners with communities to empower youth, fostering positive relationships and safe environments where every child can thrive.
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