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London-St. Thomas jobless rate jumps to 6.3% in October

London-St. Thomas jobless rate jumps to 6.3% in October - image
Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press

London’s unemployment rate rose to 6.3 per cent in October, up from 5.5 per cent the month before.

It’s the first time the jobless rate has been above 6 per cent in London since June.

The unemployment rate rose as 800 people were added to the labour force while 1,300 jobs were lost.

2,100 more people claimed unemployment.

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London continued to have a worst labour participation rate in the country. London’s labour participation rate sits at 59 per cent, below the provincial average of 64.8 per cent and the national average of 65.7 per cent.

Nationally, Statistics Canada says the economy added 35,000 jobs in October but the unemployment rate crept higher, with more young people looking for work.

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Despite adding jobs, Canada’s unemployment rate increased to 6.3 per cent, up from 6.2 per cent in September.

On a year-over-year basis, total employment rose by 308,000, with full-time work increasing by 397,000 and the number of people working part time declining by 89,000.

In Ontario, employment was virtually unchanged in October, while the unemployment rate increased 0.3 percentage points to 5.9 per cent as more people searched for work.

With files from the Canadian Press

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