The unemployment rate in the London area fell in April, but the news is not entirely good.
According to figures released Friday by Statistics Canada, the jobless rate for London-St. Thomas fell to 4.8 per cent in April from 5 per cent in March. However, the jobs report from the federal agency also noted that the labour force, which is the number of people either working or looking for work, fell by 3,800 in April. The size of the local labour force has fallen in four straight months.
Statistics Canada said the London-St. Thomas area had a labour force participation rate of 58.6 per cent in April, a drop from the 59.5 per cent that was reported in March.
Provincially, the unemployment rate was unchanged at 6 per cent, despite the creation of 47,000 jobs. Most of the growth was in part-time jobs.
The national unemployment rate was 5.7 per cent. According to Statistics Canada, April saw the creation of 106,500 jobs.