London-St. Thomas unemployment rate soars to 8.2% in April – London

The London-St. Thomas unemployment rate increased more than a full percentage point to 8.2 per cent in April, up from 7 per cent in March.

It marks the second straight month the jobless rate has increased in the region, though it’s still well below the pandemic high of 12.6 per cent last June.

However, as was the case in March, April’s uptick appears to be due to an increase in the number of people looking for work that outpaced the number of jobs created.

According to data from Statistics Canada, the labour force grew by 7,700 while employment increased by 3,600.

Additionally, 4,100 more people claimed unemployment.

The participation rate, which measures the proportion of the working-age population that is working or looking for work, climbed to 64.9 per cent from 63.3 per cent.

1:45
Alberta’s economy took the hardest hit of all Canadian provinces in 2020