Red sign hanging at the glass door of a shop saying "Closed due to coronavirus".
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.
With news media at a tipping point, an independent Spanish newspaper is managing to find new ways to grow
3-130 Windsor Crescent: $779,000 for a spacious and modern two-storey condo in Old South
A summary of recent commercial real estate activity in London
Surge of supply: London home inventory is now at its highest level since 2015, but buyers remain reluctant
Startup SaaS platform Appello aims to give smaller commercial subcontractors a leg up in field workforce management
Flim London manager Andrew Dodd chats about the art of attracting film production to London, building a hometown location library…