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The labour force — the number of people working and looking for work — in the London region, which includes St. Thomas, Strathroy and parts of Middlesex County, decreased by 1,200 people in June.

It’s the fifth consecutive month the London-area labour force has shrunk, an indication fewer people are looking for work.

The jobless rate has remained fairly consistent since the start of the year, falling slightly to 4.9 per cent in June from five per cent the month before.

“Since the start of the year, when we look at employment in London, it declined by 9,000 jobs,” said Emmanuelle Bourbeau, senior economist with Statistics Canada.

“Over the same period, the unemployment rate was little changed because the number of people participating in the labour market also declined.”

In Ontario, the unemployment rate rose to 5.4 per cent last month, up slightly from May.

Nationwide, the unemployment rate rose 0.1 percentage points to 5.5 per cent as the number of people looking for work increased.

The sluggish job numbers in the London area come after the region reached record low unemployment last year and had very strong job growth, Arcand said.

But London’s housing market is and has been strong, Arcand noted, a sign of people’s confidence in the local economy.

The humdrum start to 2019 isn’t necessarily a reason to fret, Arcand said. Data collected in the StatsCan job survey from mid-sized areas, including London, can be subject to more variability than in larger centres, he said.

“The data tend to be volatile. It’s not a surprise that you have a bit of a swing the other way when you had such positive numbers the year before,” Arcand said.

“For that reason you could maybe hang your hopes that things will turn around because the survey data are usually a little bit volatile for London. I would be comfortable saying I would expect a rebound again soon for London.”

jbieman@postmedia.com

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