The London region's unemployment rate followed the national trend in June, rising slightly.
According to the latest data from Statistics Canada, the London Census Metropolitan Area's jobless rate rose from 4.4 per cent in May to 4.5 per cent last month. The 4.4 per cent unemployment rate remains the lowest local rate on record.
Locally, 4,200 people entered the workforce, though only 3,500 new jobs were available.
The London CMA includes St. Thomas, Strathroy, and other surrounding communities.
The Labour Participation rate fell to 64.8 per cent, down from 65.3 the month before.
Nationally, the unemployment rate inched up 0.2 percentage points, from 5.2 per cent in May to 5.4 percent in June. It's the second month in a row the jobless rate has risen and the highest it has been in over a year.
The increase came despite the economy adding 60,000 jobs in June. Statistics Canada said that more people are looking for work, causing the unemployment rate to rise.
Job gains were concentrated in wholesale and retail trade, manufacturing, health care and social assistance, and transportation and warehousing.
In Ontario, the unemployment rate rose to 5.7 per cent, an increase of 0.2 percentage points.
The growth in average hourly wages slowed last month to 4.2 per cent, or by $1.32 to $33.12, year over year. In May, wages grew by 5.1 per cent, and June's results were the slowest acceleration since May 2022.
Statistics Canada gathered data for the Labour Force Survey between June 11 and June 17. The survey for July is between July 9 and June 15 and will be released on August 4.
