The London-St. Thomas jobless rate rose for the fourth straight month in September, and hit its highest level in the past 12 months.
Statistics Canada said the unemployment rate rose to six per cent last month, up from 5.6 per cent in August.
According to the government agency, the last time the rate in London-St. Thomas was above six per cent was October 2022.
The hike was fueled by increases in the labour force, as well as the number of people claiming unemployment and jobs.
Some 3,100 jobs were created in September. Within the past four months, the region has created over 12,000 jobs while the unemployment rate continues to rise, including 1,700 more people last month.
London’s participation rate, or the percentage of the working-age population that is working or looking for work, climbed to 67.5 per cent in September, up from 66.7 per cent the month before.
Nationally, the jobs market held steady in September with a gain of 64,000 positions and no change in the unemployment rate.
That marks a a bigger jump than the 40,000 jobs added in August, when Canada’s unemployment rate also held steady at 5.5 per cent.
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