For the second month in a row, the London-St. Thomas jobless rate has fallen.
According to Statistics Canada, the local unemployment rate fell to 5.8 per cent in November as the region added 5,500 jobs. It’s the second straight month of large job increases after 4,600 jobs were added in October.
The increase in the number of jobs coincided with a rise in the overall labour force and a decline in the number of people claiming unemployment. London’s participation rate, which has long been one of the worst in the country, now stands at 60.8 per cent. It’s the first time it has risen above 60 per cent since February.
While London’s participation rate rose, it is still far behind the provincial and national averages.
The large increase in jobs comes months after Mayor Ed Holder said the city was in the midst of a jobs crisis. London has added 5,700 jobs since city council took over last December. 11,400 jobs were lost between last December and July when the recent job surge began.
Nationally, the unemployment rate rose to 5.9 per cent as 71,000 jobs were lost, the country’s largest monthly job loss since the financial crisis a decade ago.
Ontario’s jobless rate rose to 5.6, mostly as a result of more people looking for work.