A month after the World Health Organization officially declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic, the jobless rate in Ontario’s London-St.
Thomas region has increased by nearly one per cent. The rate was at 4.9 per cent in February and jumped to 5.8 per cent in March.
Ed Holder, London’s mayor, spoke about the city’s unemployment rate during a virtual media briefing with the Middlesex-London Health Unit on Thursday. “I don’t think there’s a cause for celebration here; I expect there’s going to be more troubling economic news in April and beyond.” The March uptick put an end to five consecutive months of declines, but is still well below the 6.5 per cent unemployment rate recorded in September 2019.