Five thousand people in Waterloo region found full-time work in the professional, scientific and technical services sector in 2016, but that increase was offset by 5,000 fewer people working in the accommodation, food services, restaurant and hotel industry, according to Statistics Canada.

Analyst Andrew Fields puts the annual average unemployment in 2016 in Kitchener, Cambridge and Waterloo at 1,800, a rate of 5.5 per cent, which is down from 5.9 per cent in 2015.

The positive local numbers

Statistics Canada says jobs in the professional, scientific and technical sector include everything from legal services, architecture, engineering, marketing, accounting, scientific research and computer system design and its related services.

Looking at other increases locally, 2,500 people found work in education, 2,000 more people worked in wholesale and retail trade, while 1,600 found work in agriculture.

On the downside

Other losses in the region were seen in healthcare, where 2,400 fewer people worked in that industry compared to year before.

Fields says he was surprised at that decline locally.

"Certainly at the national level we see a large increase in that industry," said Fields. "It's one of the fastest growing."

Fields says fewer people were working in the business and building sector, which includes support services for buildings and temporary services.

Guelph stats

In the city of Guelph, growth from 2015 to 2016 was unchanged and there was no major increase in the number of people working year over year.

1,500 more people were working in wholesale and retail trade.

1,300 more people were working in business building and other services.

1,000 fewer people were working in services, from mechanics to dry cleaners and household maintenance.

Small declines seen in finance insurance, real estate, leasing and professional, scientific and technical services.

Nationally, Statistics Canada says the economy added 60,000 jobs in 2016. Only 400 were full-time positions.