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London’s unemployment rate was virtually unchanged in May, falling slightly as a weakened Canadian economy posted sluggish job figures, Statistics Canada reported.
The unemployment rate for the region last month was 6.3 per cent, down from April’s 6.4 per cent, the federal agency reported Friday.
The decrease came as the London area, which also includes St. Thomas, Strathroy and portions of Elgin and Middlesex counties, added 2,600 jobs. In total, 315,600 people were employed locally in May.
Friday’s report can be seen as a positive one for London given a slowdown in Canadian economic growth after high inflation forced higher interest rates during the past year.
Wednesday, the Bank of Canada announced it was cutting interest rates for the first time since the summer of 2023, bringing its key lending rate down to 4.75 per cent from five per cent.
Though a minor cut, the move by Canada’s central bank signals further cuts could come in the near future. A sustained reduction to interest rates could give a much-needed boost to the local economy, especially to London’s now-sluggish housing market.
“The lowering of the rates or the general direction in which they may go in general will be better, not only for things like the housing market, where people may be getting back in again but also for consumers in general,” said Audra Bowlus, a Western University economics professor.
And if inflationary pressures are also off a bit, people will be able to spend on a greater variety of choices as opposed to only trying to cover the necessities.
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“You may need to see more cuts to kind of see a bigger boost to the economy, but the Bank of Canada is now doing a fine dance,” Bowlus said.
Provincially, the picture was similar to London’s.
Ontario added about 50,000 jobs, the fourth increase in the past five months and one of only three provinces to see employment gains last month. The main caveat with the figure is a large portion of those gains were part-time positions.
The province’s unemployment rate eased to 6.7 per cent from April’s 6.8 per cent.
Nationally, Canada’s unemployment rate was 6.2 per cent in May, up 0.1 per cent from the month prior.
Friday’s report, which came in largely as forecasters had expected, suggests the Canadian labour market is trudging along but struggling to meet the needs of a growing number of jobseekers.
“The main numbers were returning to a familiar trend: the Canadian job numbers eking out a decent overall headline gain, but not matching population growth,” said Brendon Bernard, a senior economist with hiring site indeed.
“And that’s showing up in a rising unemployment rate, which, at 6.2 is not particularly low anymore.”
With Canadian Press files
London’s monthly jobless numbers (2023-24)
- May 2023 – 4.4 per cent
- June 2023 – 4.5 per cent
- July 2023 – 5 per cent
- August 2023 – 5.6 per cent
- September 2023 – 6 per cent
- October 2023 – 5.8 per cent
- November 2023 – 5.8 per cent
- December 2023 – 5.5 per cent
- January 2024 – 5.7 per cent
- February 2024 – 5.9 per cent
- March 2024 – 6.4 per cent
- April 2024 – 6.4 per cent
- May 2024 – 6.3 per cent
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