In December, the London-area jobless rate which includes London, Strathroy, St. Thomas and parts of Elgin and Middlesex counties –slightly improved, hitting 5.6 per cent, matching levels seen in late summer, per Statistics Canada’s just-released data.
The region’s labor force, encompassing those 15 and older, tallied 332,200, dropping by 700 from November. London’s participation rate dipped to 66.9 per cent, down from 67.2 per cent in November. Comparatively, the area’s unemployment rate is below Ontario’s 6.3 per cent.
Ontario saw a slight rise in joblessness to 6.1 per cent in December, shedding 48,000 jobs, while the London area added a modest 100 positions, totaling around 313,600 employed individuals. This caps off a year where London’s unemployment hit record lows at 4.4 per cent in April and May, marking the most positive figures in nearly 25 years.
written by: C. Soares
