London unemployment rate holds steady, even as more jobs created

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The London area added 1,400 new jobs in October, the second straight month of employment gains for the region, Statistics Canada reported Friday.

Despite the gains, which followed an abysmal summer in which London shed about 7,300 positions, the jobless rate for the region was unchanged from September’s 6.4 per cent.

That’s the result of an uptick in the population of the London area – which also includes St. Thomas, Strathroy and portions of Elgin and Middlesex counties – of about 1,900 people.

Already one of the fastest-growing communities in Ontario, with a population expected to reach about 880,000 by 2050, the London region was home to about 517,000 people in October, according to the federal agency’s estimates.

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Ontario’s unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.8 per cent in October, while Canada’s jobless figures remained steady at 6.5 per cent.

The cool labour market has largely been attributed to a difficult economic climate marked by high interest rates that are only now coming down.

That’s also reflected in the proportion of people living in households that reported facing financial difficulties, with that figure sitting at 31.7 per cent in Ontario, above the national average of 28.8 per cent.

Renters and recent immigrants were also more likely to be facing financial difficulties, Statistics Canada reported, with the percentage of respondents in those categories saying they were having a hard time meeting their financial obligations sitting at 39.2 per cent and 41.2 per cent, respectively.

Though the Bank of Canada has now moved swiftly to cut its key lending rate, which impacts interests paid on mortgages, car loans and lines of credits, the effects of such moves could take months to trickle down into the economy, analysts say.

jjuha@postmedia.com

London-area jobless rate, over the past year

• October 2023: 5.8 per cent
• November 2023: 5.8 per cent
• December 2023: 5.5 per cent
• January 2024: 5.7 per cent
• February 2024: 5.9 per cent
• March 2024: 6.4 per cent
• April 2024: 6.4 per cent
• May 2024: 6.3 per cent
• June 2024: 6.2 per cent
• July 2024: 6.5 per cent
• August 2024: 6.5 per cent
• September 2024: 6.4 per cent
• October 2024: 6.4 per cent

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