London-area jobless rate rises slightly in July, ending streak of near-record lows

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London area jobless rate rises slightly in July ending streak of

The London-area jobless rate rose slightly last month, after a months-long stretch of near record lows, just released figures from Statistics Canada show.

The unemployment rate increased to five per cent in July, up from 4.5 per cent in June, in the census area that includes London, Strathroy, St. Thomas and portions of Elgin and Middlesex counties, Statistics Canada said in its monthly job report Friday.

The London area added 1,500 jobs last month, to bring total employment to 304,600 people, the figures show.

The local rise in unemployment rates comes after months of ultra-low totals in the economic benchmark. The London region unemployment rate hit 4.4 per cent in April, the lowest level on record record by Stats Can going back nearly a quarter-century. The rate remained unchanged in May and ticked up by a 0.1 percentage points the following month.

The local economy’s labor force participation rate – the percentage of the adult population either employed or looking for work – increased to 65.7 per cent last month from 64.2 per cent in June.

  1. New construction on Talbot Street of Old Oak's Centro building is reflected across the street in London. The London census metropolitan area has the nation's second highest post-pandemic job growth. (Mike Hensen/The London Free Press)

    London region on a tear in post-pandemic job growth: Statistics Canada

  2. Brandon Geyer, of R. Russell Construction, excavates buckets of sloppy soil to load into a dump truck on a wet Friday afternoon, March 10, 2023. The excavation is for the construction of Joan's Place, being built by Norlon Construction at the corner of York and Richmond streets, across from the Youth Opportunities Unlimited building. The London-area economy added 900 new jobs in February, the latest snapshot of the area labor market shows. (Mike Hensen/The London Free Press)

    London-area jobless rate holds steady, offers reason for optimism

London’s unemployment rate ranks near the middle-of-the-pack compared to other cities in Southwestern Ontario. Windsor’s jobless rate hit 5.6 per cent in July, while the rate in Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge total was 5.9 per cent. Brantford’s rate was 4.2 per cent in July.

Ontario’s unemployment remained largely unchanged, going down 0.1 percentage points to 5.6 per cent last month, figures from Statistics Canada show.

Employment rose in Alberta, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island in July but declined in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

The national unemployment rate rose 0.1 per cent slightly to 5.5 per cent.

The national employment rate was 62 per cent in July. More jobs were added to industries such as health care, social assistance, educational services, finance and real estate, the national statistics agency reported.

Declines were seen in construction, public administration and information, culture and recreation. and agriculture.

London-area jobless rates in 2023

January: 5 percent

February: 5.1 percent

March: 4.8 percent

April: 4.4 percent, a record low.

May: 4.4 percent, a record low.

June: 4.5 percent

July: 5 percent

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