Covid-19 hammers jobless rates

April’s unemployment rate marks a seven-year high in London and St. Thomas

THE JOBLESS RATE in London and St. Thomas climbed from 5.8 per cent in March to 8.9 per cent in April as the economic repercussions of COVID-19 ballooned.

The last time the unemployment was near 8.9 per cent in the region was in summer 2013 when the jobless rate went from 9.1 per cent in July to 8.5 per cent in August.

In April, Statistics Canada reports the local labour force decreased by roughly 8,300 people, 16,300 jobs were lost and the number of people claiming unemployment rose by 7,800.

The participation rate (the share of the working-age population that is working or looking for work), fell from 61.6 per cent in March to 59.7 per cent in April.

The national numbers are just as ugly. 

“Following a drop of over one million in March, employment fell by nearly two million in April, bringing the total employment decline since the beginning of the COVID-19 economic shutdown to over three million,” Statistics Canada stated Friday.

The agency said the national unemployment rate climbed to 13 per cent — the second-highest unemployment rate on record.

The total job losses across the country since the start of the coronavirus shutdown is now over three million, Statistics Canada said on Friday.