The jobless rate in the London region fell to its lowest level since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March of 2020.
Statistics Canada released new figures on Friday that show the unemployment rate for the London Census Metropolitan Area was 5.3 per cent last month, down from 5.8 per cent in February. It is the second straight month the rate has declined locally. The last time the figure was this low was in February 2020 when the unemployment rate was 4.9 per cent.
The drop is attributed to roughly 800 new jobs that were created in March. In both January and February, the London region saw only job losses. The job gains signal a bounce back from the economic losses of the Omicron fueled province-wide shutdown in January that forced businesses to lower capacity, switch to online, or close their doors.
The labour force fell by 600 people in March and the number of people actively looking for work dropped by 1,400.
The participation rate, which reflects the percentage of working-age individuals employed or looking for work, decreased to 65.3 per cent, from 65.6 per cent in February.
There are currently 292,700 people employed in the region, up from February's 291,900.
Nationally, the unemployment rate dropped to a record low of 5.3 per cent in March, from 5.5 per cent the month prior. The economy added 72,500 jobs. Statistics Canada noted the rate would have been over 7 per cent had people who wanted a job, but did not look for one been included in the figures.
Ontario added 35,000 positions last month. That helped lower the jobless rate to 5.3 per cent. In February, Ontario’s unemployment rate was 5.5 per cent.
