The unemployment rate in the London region moved in the right direction last month, but it was not the result of more people finding work.
New figures released by Statistics Canada on Friday show the jobless rate for the London Census Metropolitan Area was 5.8 per cent in February, down from 6.5 per cent the month prior. The federal agency stated the drop was due to fewer people employed and searching for jobs, instead of more people being hired.
The London region lost 200 jobs in February, the second month there was no new job creation. The labour force fell by 1,800 and the number of people actively looking for work dropped by 1,600.
The participation rate, which reflects the percentage of working-age individuals employed or looking for work, decreased to 65.6 per cent, from 66 per cent in January.
There are currently 291,900 people employed in the region.
Nationally, the unemployment rate dropped a full percentage point in February to 5.5 per cent from 6.5 per cent the previous month. The economy added 337,000 jobs.
Ontario added just over 194,000 positions last month. That helped lower the jobless rate to 5.5 per cent. In January, Ontario’s unemployment rate was 7.3 per cent.
