Unemployment rate holds steady

With only 600 new jobs added in the London region in October, the unemployment rate remains unchanged at 8.9 per

THE LONDON REGION added only 600 new jobs last month, leaving the local unemployment rate unchanged at 8.9 per cent in October, figures released Friday by Statistics Canada show.

According to Statistics Canada data released Friday, the unemployment rate for October held steady at 8.9 per cent in October, with only 600 new jobs added in the region, which also includes St. Thomas, Strathroy and portions of Elgin and Middlesex counties.

The small increase in new jobs follows jobs increases of 4,200 in September and 6,900 in August. October marked the fourth consecutive month of job gains for the local economy, which lost more than 30,000 jobs in the first few months of the pandemic lockdown.

Highlights from Friday’s report for the London region include:

• The local jobless rate was 8.9 per cent in October, unchanged from September
• Lockdowns had sent the jobless rate skyrocketing to a 20-year high of 12.6 per cent in June
• The local economy has added 22,900 new positions since July
• The total number employed here is now 255,600, still below the pre-pandemic number, 264,600

Nationally, the jobless rate inched down slightly to 8.9 per cent in October from 9 per cent in September. Ontario’s unemployment rate climbed slightly to 9.6 per cent from 9.5 per cent.