For the first time in more than 10 years, the London-area unemployment rate has hit double-digits.
As COVID-19-related closures continue, the London-St. Thomas Census Metropolitan Area shed about 11,000 jobs in May, bringing the unemployment rate to 11.7 per cent, up from April's 8.9 per cent. It's the highest the local jobless rate has been since August 2009, when it was 11 per cent.
The London CMA includes London, St. Thomas, Strathroy, and other surrounding communities.
The area's employment rate, which measures the percentage of people over the age of 14 who are working, was 51.2 per cent in May. It was 53.7 per cent in April.
Nationally, the unemployment rate climbed to 13.7 per cent, despite a net gain of 290,000 jobs. According to Statistics Canada, the gain in jobs was offset by an increase in the number of people actively looking for work.
"The unemployment rate was 13.7 per cent in May, the highest rate recorded since comparable data became available in 1976," the agency said. "In February, the unemployment rate was 5.6 per cent. It increased to 7.8 per cent in March, and 13 per cent in April."
In Ontario, the jobless rate climbed to 13.6 per cent as over 64,000 jobs were lost. While the total was drastically lower than what was lost in April and March, Ontario was the only province in Canada to not see job growth between April and May. Since the pandemic began, it's estimated the province has lost more than a million jobs.
