After rising for the first time in May, Statistics Canada reports the London-St. Thomas jobless rate fell last month to six per cent.
The unemployment rate fell despite the London region losing 2,300 jobs in June. The rate dropped due to a 2,800 people leaving the labour force. 500 fewer people claimed unemployment.
The London-St. Thomas jobless rate has been on the decline for most of 2017. It started the year at 6.9 per cent then steadily declined, ultimately hitting a 2017 low of 5.7 per cent in April. It rose slightly to 6.2 per cent in May before the most recent decline.
Nationally, the Canadian labour market beat expectations last month by adding 45,300 positions.
Statistics Canada says the vast majority of the new jobs in June were in part-time work, although the number of full-time positions also increased.
The agency says the national unemployment rate edged down to 6.5 per cent.
A consensus of economists had expected an increase of 10,000 jobs in June and for the unemployment rate to stay at 6.6 per cent, according to Thomson Reuters.
The increase adds to a series of positive job-market gains since the middle of 2016 and comes amid widespread expectations that the Bank of Canada will hike its benchmark interest rate next week.
Compared to a year earlier, the agency says 350,800 more people were employed in Canada and that 248,200 of those new jobs were full time.
There was little change in Ontario during the month in June both in the number of people working and the unemployment rate, which sits at 6.4 per cent. Through the first half of 2017, employment in Ontario is virtually unchanged following an upward trend in the second half of 2016.
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