London area unemployment drops to 6 per cent with fewer people looking for work

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The London area jobless rate fell to six per cent in June, down from 6.2 per cent in May.

But there wasn’t much good news behind the number. Statistics Canada said the number of people employed in London-St. Thomas dropped by 1,700 last month. But that was offset by an even bigger drop of 2,200 in the labour force with fewer people looking for work.

The unemployment rate had been falling earlier in the year, hitting a 10 year-low of 5.7 per cent in April with strong job growth and more people back in the labour force.

The labour force continued to grow in May but there weren’t enough jobs to go around, causing the jobless rate to jump to 6.2 per cent.

The drop in the labour force in June was the first in months and cuts into solid growth seen from February to May.

Across Canada unemployment fell a notch to 6.5 per cent down from 6.6 per in May with 45,000 jobs, mainly part-time, added.

In Ontario, the unemployment rate fell to 6.4 per cent in June down from 6.5 per cent in May but as with London, the number of people employed actually fell but even more people left the job market.

Unemployment in Windsor rose to 5.2 per cent in June and fell slightly to 5.2 per cent in Kitchener-Waterloo.

hdaniszewski@postmedia.com

twitter.com/HankatLFPress

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THE NUMBERS

June Unemployment Rate

(May in brackets)

Canada: 6.5 per cent (6.6 per cent)

Ontario: 6.4 per cent (6.5 per cent)

London-St. Thomas

Unemployment Rate

June 6 per cent