Even though the London region was able to add hundreds of new jobs last month, it wasn't enough to stop the unemployment rate from rising.
New figures released by Statistics Canada on Friday show the jobless rate for the London Census Metropolitan Area was 10 per cent in June, up from 9.7 per cent in May. It is the fourth consecutive month the local unemployment rate has trended upwards. The last time it was this high was in July 2020 when it rose to 10.5 per cent.
The June increase can partially be blamed on the last round of lockdowns which shuttered many businesses throughout the spring. The economy slowly began to reopen on June 11 when the province entered Step 1 of its reopening plan. Since then Ontario has moved into Step 2, which allowed additional businesses, such as hair and nail salons, to welcome customers back.
The London region added an additional 400 new jobs last month, the twelfth straight month the local economy added new positions. However, the number of people actively looking for work increased by 1,100.
The participation rate, which reflects the percentage of working-age individuals employed or looking for work, rose slightly to 66.4 per cent, from 66.2 per cent in May.
Nationally, the unemployment rate dropped in June to 7.8 per cent from 8.2 per cent the previous month. The economy added 230,700 jobs.
Ontario added 117,000 positions last month as pandemic restrictions were eased. That helped lower the jobless rate to 8.4 per cent from 9.3 per cent in May.
