For a second straight month, the London-area's jobless rate has slightly increased.
Figures from Statistics Canada released on Friday show unemployment in the London Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) rose to 5.9 per cent in February, up from 5.7 per cent in January. The only time the rate was higher in the past year was in September when unemployment jumped to 6 per cent.
The labour force, which is the number of people 15 and older who are either working or looking for work, was down from 330,900 in January to 330,200 last month. The labour participation rate, which measures the percentage of the population that is included in the labour force, was also down to 65.9 per cent in February from 66.3 per cent the month prior.
The London CMA includes St. Thomas, Strathroy, and other surrounding communities. Last month's local rate was just 0.1 percentage points higher than the national one.
Canada added 41,000 new jobs in February, but that wasn't enough to keep the jobless numbers from going up a tick to 5.8 per cent. In January, the national rate was 5.9 per cent. The employment gains were divided among several sectors including accommodation and food services. However, Statistics Canada data shows the country isn't creating enough jobs to keep up with the high population growth.
In Ontario, the rate went up by three percentage points to 6.5 per cent in February. That is up from 6.2 per cent in January.
