London area jobless rate falls as labour force shrinks

The London area’s unemployment rate fell again in October because workers continue to leave the labour force, Statistics Canada reported Friday.

The unemployment rate for the London census metropolitan area, which includes London, St. Thomas, Strathroy and parts of Elgin and Middlesex counties, eased to 8.1 per cent in October, down from 8.4 per cent the previous month, new job figures show.

The decline had more to do with people leaving the labour force than job gains, said David Ristovski, an economist with Signal49 Research, an economic forecasting agency formerly known as the Conference Board of Canada.