Despite the provincial lockdown that has shuttered many businesses since the end of last year, the jobless rate in the London region was unchanged in January.
Figures released Friday by Statistics Canada show the unemployment rate for the London Census Metropolitan Area held steady at 7.7 per cent last month. That comes after two straight months of decreases.
The London CMA, which includes St. Thomas, Strathroy, and other surrounding communities, added roughly 3,000 jobs in January. This is the seventh straight month the labour force has grown in the area.
"During that time, we have added an astounding 33,300 jobs to our local economy, and, according to Statistics Canada, we are one of only three communities in all of Ontario with more people employed in January 2021 compared to the start of the first lockdown in March 2020," Mayor Ed Holder said in a statement.
While January's jobless numbers paint a somewhat positive picture, they do not yet take in the full impact of the province's second lockdown which began on December 26. Statistics Canada said its municipal report is compiled using a three month average.
"We know [the numbers] fail to capture the experience of many Londoners who are still laid off, or working reduced hours, due to the current lockdown. We owe it to them, and all local businesses, to continue adhering to public health guidelines," said Holder. "The progress we've seen on that front recently was why our region was among the first in all of Ontario to resume in-class learning. Assuming current trends persist, I see no reason why we won't be among the first to lead Ontario in safely re-starting our local economy."
Nationally, the unemployment rate jumped to its highest level since last August and now sits at 9.4 per cent. That is up from 8.6 per cent in December. The increase came as the country lost approximately 213,000 jobs in January.
Ontario’s jobless rate climbed to 10.2 per cent in January from 9.6 per cent in December. Temporary layoffs due to the lockdown accounted for the bulk of the 154,000 positions lost.
