London-St. Thomas lost 900 jobs in November as jobless rate held steady

November wasn’t a very good month for jobseekers in London, Ont., according to Statistics Canada.

Nine hundred jobs were lost in London-St. Thomas last month as the jobless rate held steady at 5.8 per cent.

The unemployment rate for the region had been on the rise from April to September, climbing over 1.5 per cent over that period.

The monthly update from Statistics Canada found that the labour force declined while jobs were lost and there was a slight uptick in the number of people claiming unemployment.

London’s participation rate, or the percentage of the working-age population that is working or looking for work, also dropped to 67.2 per cent in November, down from 67.7 per cent the month before.

London’s jobless rate is now on par with the national rate, as Canada’s unemployment rate ticked up to 5.8 per cent from 5.7 per cent in October. It started the year at a near-record low of 5.0 per cent.

However, the London-St. Thomas unemployment rate is now below the provincial rate, which currently stands at 6.1 per cent.