London’s jobless rate has fallen for the third month in a row.
Statistics Canada the London-St. Thomas unemployment rate fell to 5.3 per cent in May as 1,400 jobs were created.
The jobless rate has now fallen over a full percentage point since February when it stood at 6.7 per cent.
The labour force rose by 500 while the number of people claiming unemployment fell by 900.
The participation rate held steady at 61.2 per cent.
In Ontario, there was virtually no change in the number of people working in May, and the unemployment rate was 5.7 per cent.
Nationally the economy lost 7,500 jobs. The unemployment rate held steady at 5.8 per cent for the fourth consecutive month.
On a year-over-year basis, employment grew by 238,000 or 1.3 per cent, due to gains in full-time work. Over the same period, total hours worked were up 2 per cent.
Average hourly wages increased 3.9 per cent compared to a year ago. Hourly wages is a key indicator watched by the Bank of Canada. The increase is the largest seen since April 2009.
Adjusted to the concepts used in the United States, the unemployment rate in Canada was 4.8% in May, compared with 3.8% in the United States.