For the third straight month, there has been a significant increase in the London-area unemployment rate.
But this time, it's not because jobs were lost. Instead, it was because the number of new jobs was eclipsed by the number of people looking for work.
Figures released Friday morning by Statistics Canada show the jobless rate for the London Census Metropolitan Area, which includes St. Thomas, Strathroy, and other surrounding communities, went up by half a percentage point in August. The seventh straight monthly increase in the unemployment rate saw it climb to 6.3 per cent from 5.8 per cent in July. June's unemployment rate was 4.9 per cent.
But a closer look at the numbers shows some reason for optimism. Statistics Canada says an additional 4,100 people were working in August compared to July. It also reported that the employment rate - which measures the number of people with jobs as a percentage of the population that is 15 years of age or older -- went up in August. It was 54.7 per cent, compared to 53.9 per cent in July. The labour force participation rate also increased from 57.2 per cent in July to 58.3 per cent in August.
Nationally, the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.7 per cent, despite a net increase of just over 81,000 jobs. According to Statistics Canada, many of them were part-time.