An increase in jobs and the size of the labour force added up to a big drop in the local unemployment rate in April.
According to Statistics Canada, the jobless rate in the London-St. Thomas Census Metropolitan area was 5.7% last month, down from 6.3% in March.
The federal agency says the number of people working in the area climbed by 3,800 in April. The figures released Friday also show an increase in the size of the local labour force, which includes people are working or looking for work.
Nationally, the unemployment rate held steady at 5.8%, where it has now been for three straight months. The economy lost 1,100 jobs in April, but the decrease was so small that Statistics Canada did not deem it statistically significant.