Global pressures, upcoming projects key to understanding local economy says expert

The head of the LEDC discusses the region’s unemployment levels, as London faces the highest jobless rate in the country. Gerry Dewan reports.

As Statistics Canada prepares to release its May labour force statistics this Friday, June 5, the unemployment numbers for southern Ontario continue to cast a shadow.

However, local economic development officials are urging a look beyond the immediate figures, emphasizing that a complex web of global pressures and significant future investments will ultimately shape the region’s economic trajectory.

The trend in monthly employment numbers has been a point of concern, with the unemployment rate for the region showing an upward climb through the first four months of 2026:

• January: 8.2 per cent
• February: 8.8 per cent
• March: 9.1 per cent
• April: 9.2 per cent

This upward trend has placed the London region at the top of the list for the highest jobless rate among large municipalities across the country.

Kapil Lakhotia, president and CEO of the London Economic Development Corporation (LEDC), acknowledged the challenging statistics but stressed that they do not tell the complete story.

“The broader economy in southwestern Ontario is shaped by global pressures,” Lakhotia stated. “That, of course, includes our ongoing trade negotiations with the U.S., global conflict, interest rates, and the slow housing market. All of these factors contribute towards the economic conditions that we see here on the ground.”

He further elaborated on the specific vulnerabilities within the local economy.

“We have close to 20 per cent of our employment covered in manufacturing and construction related industries,” Lakhotia noted. “We know construction is slower right now, and we know manufacturing is affected by some of these global pressures. What we are trying to do to help mitigate some of those pressures is by diversifying our industrial base.”

The impact of these external forces has not gone unnoticed by government officials. Evan Solomon, the minister responsible for FedDev Ontario, acknowledged the localized economic pain during a recent funding announcement in London.

“This is where the real impact of the tariff or on steel auto aluminum has really hit,” Solomon said. “And that’s had knock-on consequences to lots of businesses here.”

Federal and provincial funding initiatives, alongside legislative changes, are being deployed to support business growth. Lakhotia cautioned, however, that the full impact of these programs will take time to materialize. He also emphasized that monthly employment figures are merely a snapshot and that other economic indicators must be considered for a comprehensive assessment.

“GDP still stays steady and projected to grow as we know, with more nation building project infrastructure, residential growth projected to meet housing targets,” Lakhotia explained. “We expect an increase in the construction industries as well.”

Looking ahead, new manufacturing operations are poised to come online, injecting much-needed jobs into the region. These include the Medicom nitrile glove manufacturing plant in the city’s Advanced Manufacturing Park, which is expected to create over 100 new jobs.

More significantly, the massive PowerCo EV battery plant in St. Thomas is slated to begin initial production in 2027, with expectations of creating 3,000 new jobs once fully operational.

Lakhotia told CTV News that upcoming projects, coupled with efforts to diversify the industrial base, offer a glimpse of future economic resilience and growth for southern Ontario, even as current statistics present a challenging picture.