The first month of 2019 saw a jump in the local unemployment rate, even though more than a thousand new jobs were created.
According to figures released Friday by Statistics Canada, the jobless rate in the London census metropolitan area, which includes London, St. Thomas, Strathroy and other surrounding communities, rose to 5.2 per cent in January, up from five per cent in December.
This is the second month in a row that the local unemployment rate has posted an increase.
The bump in the jobless rate came despite the creation of 1,500 new jobs. Those new jobs were offset by an increase in the size of the labour force, which includes people working or looking for work. It grew by about 2,000 to 267,500.
For the first time in three months, there was an increase in the size of the labour force.
Nationally, the unemployment rate rose to 5.8 per cent last month, up from an all-time low of 5.6 per cent in December. The country saw 66,800 net new jobs in January.
Provincially, the jobless rate jumped from 5.4 percent in December to 5.7 per cent in January.
