London area adds 3,000 new jobs, unemployment rate up slightly

The London area added 3,000 new jobs in September as the local unemployment rate ticked up slightly along with the number of people looking for work, just-released figures show.

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In its monthly update published Friday, Statistics Canada states the local jobless rate rose to six per cent last month, marking an increase of 0.4 per cent from August’s 5.6 per cent. That reflects the area that includes London, Strathroy, St. Thomas and parts of Elgin and Middlesex counties.

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The London-area’s rate in September matches the rate of the entire province, which ticked up to six per cent from 5.9 per cent in August. The national unemployment rate held at 5.5 per cent for the third straight month.

Two of London’s closest peer cities saw their jobless rates moving in opposite directions in September. Windsor’s bumped to six per cent from 5.8 and Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge saw a decrease to 5.3 per cent, from 5.6.

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The uptick in London’s jobless rate may have been driven by the fact more people were looking for work – a healthy economic indicator. In September, 67.5 per cent of working-age local residents were working or looking for work, up from 63.4 per cent one month prior.

The local labor force participation rate jumped up 0.8 per cent to 67.5. The London-area added 3,000 new jobs last month.

The latest Statistics Canada figures also show a boost of roughly 1,700 to the population of the region, bringing it to 491,900.

Nationally, much of the growth in jobs has been driven by part-time jobs, continuing to outpace full-time employment over the course of 2023. Going by industry, transportation and warehousing, and service-producing sectors such as education, health care, and accommodation and food service saw the greatest job gains in September across Canada.

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