The rate of unemployment in London-St. Thomas fell 2/10ths of a percentage point, while across Canada as a whole, the story was different but not as bad as analysts expected.
Locally, the February 2015 rate was pegged by Statistics-Canada at 7%, down from 7.2% in January. Stats-Can reports 1,200 people found work in the region last month.
Nationally, the rate rose 0.2% to 6.8% because of 1,000 jobs lost. Economists had expected a loss of 5,000 jobs, largely due to the plunge in crude oil prices.