London-St. Thomas unemployment rate drops to 5.8% in February

The London-St. Thomas unemployment rate dropped to 5.8 per cent in February, down from 6.3 per cent in January, but the decline was not associated with job creation.

Statistics Canada data released Friday showed that, for the month of February, 200 jobs were lost, the labour force fell by 1,800 people and the number of people who claimed unemployment insurance because they were actively looking for work fell by 1,600.

The participation rate, which measures the proportion of the working-age population that is working or looking for work, was 65.6 per cent in February, down from 66 per cent in January.

Nationally, Canada added 337,000 jobs in February, more than offsetting the loss of 200,000 jobs in January as the unemployment rate fell below the February 2020 level.

The unemployment rate fell to 5.5 per cent in February compared with 6.5 per cent in the first month of the year.

— with files from The Canadian Press