The London-St. Thomas jobless rate fell slightly to end 2017.
Stats Canada says the unemployment rate dipped to 6.2 per cent in December, down from 6.3 per cent the month before.
700 jobs were created last month while 700 people entered the labour market. The number of people claiming unemployment was virtually untouched.
However, London’s labour participation rate remains stubbornly low. It sits at 59.9 per cent, worst in Ontario. Nationally, only Trois-Rivières, Quebec and Saguenay, Quebec, two cities a third the size of London, have a labour participation rate that’s lower.
Overall, the London-St. Thomas rate ended the year over half a percent lower than where it began. It started the year at 6.9 per cent. The jobless rate reached its lowest point in August when it fell to 5.4 per cent.
Nationally, the unemployment rate fell to 5.7 per cent, its lowest level in more than 40 years.
79,000 jobs were created in December, mostly through part-time work.
Job gains were seen mostly among public sector employees and self-employed workers, the number of private sector employees held steady.
Statistics Canada says overall the national unemployment rate fell by 1.2 percentage points in 2017, ending at the lowest since comparable data became available in January 1976.
In Ontario, employment was little changed in December, after a notable increase the previous month. The unemployment rate in the province remained at 5.5 per cent.