London

London: the weakest labour market in the group

London's labour market is the weakest of the eight metropolitan areas. The unemployment rate was 8.1% in October 2026, the highest of the eight and up from 6.7% a year earlier, a rise of 1.4 percentage points. Employment changed -6.2% against a year earlier, the largest fall, and both the employment rate of 57.4% and the participation rate of 62.5% are the lowest of the eight.

These are sample-survey estimates for one metropolitan area, so they move more than provincial figures. A change this size deserves two readings: unemployment, employment and both rates all rank at the weak end of the group, which is consistent with a genuine weakening, but the size of the moves is large enough that part of it may be survey noise. Neither the data nor Northline can separate the two.

People and housing

The population grew 1.0% in the year to July 2025, about the same as Hamilton and Québec City and slower than Halifax, Winnipeg, Regina and Saskatoon. Net non-permanent residents changed -1,777, net interprovincial migration -642, and immigrants numbered 7,025.

New-home prices changed -1.9% against a year earlier, the third largest fall of the eight, alongside 5,857 homes under construction in September 2026, 9.2 per 1,000 residents.

Gross domestic product at basic prices was C$32.7 billion in 2022, up 27.9% in five years in current dollars.

What it means for decisions

For an employer, the numbers suggest more available workers than a year ago. For a lender or builder, falling new-home prices and weaker employment point to caution but are not enough alone to say demand is shrinking. For anyone relying on these figures, the next three monthly releases are the check.

What the data cannot say: they do not give industry detail for the job losses, wages, or resale prices. Nothing here is a forecast.

1. Jobs: 311 thousand people are employed, -6.2% against a year ago; unemployment is 8.1%. The employment rate, 57.4%, is 8th of 8 among the eight metropolitan areas in this group. Labour

2. Prices: new-home prices changed -1.9% in the twelve months to September 2026. There is no metropolitan consumer price index. Prices

3. People: the population changed 1.0% in the year to July 2025. Net non-permanent residents changed -1,777 in the latest demographic year. Population

4. Housing: new-home prices changed -1.9% in the twelve months to September 2026, with 5,857 homes under construction. Housing

5. Output: the economy produced C$32.7 billion in 2022. Output The industry mix from the 2021 Census is in Industry.

6. Connections: the links that reach London are national or provincial, and none is measured for the city. Connections

What happened

At basic prices and in current dollars, the London economy produced C$32.7 billion of output in 2022, the latest reference year in Statistics Canada's table. Measured in current dollars, output was 60.5% higher in 2022 than in 2009 and 13.6% higher than in 2019. Over the same period since 2009 Hamilton grew 70.9%, Calgary 72.4%, Edmonton 54.6%, Toronto 85.0%, Vancouver 98.1% and Montréal 75.3%. Ontario's real GDP was 13.3% higher in 2025 than in 2019, before the pandemic; that is a different measure (market prices at 2017 constant prices, province) and is not comparable with the metropolitan current-dollar figures.

Why it happened

Not assessed. The table is in current dollars, so these changes include price increases, and it is not divided by population, so the figures do not separate growth in the number of people from growth in output per person. This section reports the data; attributed explanations of the differences are in the economic story and local-economy sections of this page.

Why it matters

GDP at basic prices is the broadest measure of local production that Statistics Canada publishes for metropolitan areas. It shows how large the local economy is, but not who earns the income, what is produced, or how the economy is doing now.

History

The series starts in 2009 and ends in 2022. A fall in output in any year in between would show in the chart; no year-by-year explanation is offered here.

Across geographies

The metropolitan series are comparable with each other because they come from one table with one definition and one price basis. Levels depend on city size; use growth rates for comparison.

What it influences

Not assessed. No relationship in the recorded graph links metropolitan output to another variable.

Risks

The table ends in 2022 and describes nothing since; it cannot show the effects of recent changes in interest rates, trade policy, population or commodity prices on London.

What to watch

Statistics Canada's next release of table 36-10-0468-01. No release date for it is in the calendar this site holds, and none is assumed.

What happened

London's unemployment rate was 8.1% in October 2026, against 6.7% a year earlier, and employment was 311 thousand, a change of -6.2% on a year earlier (Statistics Canada, three-month averages, metropolitan area). Hamilton's unemployment rate was 7.6%, from 6.9% a year earlier, and Kitchener's was 7.1%, from 7.6%; employment changed -0.8% in Hamilton and 1.7% in Kitchener over the year.

The rental market turned in the same direction. The vacancy rate in the October 2025 survey was 3.8%, from 1.7% two years earlier, and the average two-bedroom rent was C$1,645. The twelve months to September 2026 account for 3,788 of the 7,360 homes started over two years. The net change in non-permanent residents in the latest demographic year was -1,777, after 12 thousand the year before.

Why it happened

Why it matters

History

London's population was 633 thousand on 1 July 2025, up 7.9% in three years and 26.2% in ten. Hamilton's grew 5.3% and Kitchener's 11.7% over the same three years. Net non-permanent residents added 13 thousand people at the peak of the last five years, compared with -1,777 in the latest year.

Across geographies

What it influences

Risks

What to watch

What happened

London's unemployment rate was 8.1% in October 2026 and employment was 311 thousand, a change of -6.2% on a year earlier; the employment rate was 57.4% and the participation rate 62.5% (Statistics Canada, metropolitan area). The population was 633 thousand on 1 July 2025, up 26.2% over ten years, while the net change in non-permanent residents in the latest demographic year was -1,777. The metropolitan economy produced C$32.7 billion in 2022, the latest year published, in current dollars.

Why it happened

In the 2021 Census, London's largest source of jobs was not manufacturing: health care and social assistance was the largest source of jobs located in the area (17.4%), then retail (12.2%) and manufacturing (11.2%), followed by educational services (10.1%). Hamilton's manufacturing share was 11.5% and Kitchener's 16.1%, while health care was 15.8% of Hamilton's jobs and 11.3% of Kitchener's. London's distinguishing feature in the Census is therefore health care, not manufacturing.

Why it matters

The annual Labour Force Survey, which covers the whole metropolitan area, shows which parts of the economy have grown. Total employment was 328 thousand in 2025, 9.2% above 2022. Professional, scientific and technical services was 31 thousand, up 32.5% since 2022 and 20.3% on the year before; wholesale and retail trade was 47 thousand (6.8% on the year); accommodation and food services 20 thousand (6.5%); and information, culture and recreation 12 thousand (6.9%). Health care and social assistance, at 50 thousand, was the largest industry.

Among the industries that fell in 2025 were manufacturing, transportation and agriculture. Manufacturing employment was 38 thousand, a change of -7.7% from the year before; transportation and warehousing was 14 thousand, a change of -11.8%; and agriculture was 3,200, a change of -44.8%. Goods-producing industries as a group changed -8.2%, while services-producing industries changed 5.0%. These are annual sample estimates for a mid-sized area; public administration, for example, swung from 8,800 in 2024 to 12 thousand in 2025, so single-year moves of this size should be read as direction, not precision.

History

The metropolitan economy's GDP rose 13.6% between 2019 and 2022 in current dollars, and the population grew 7.9% in the three years to 2025. Net non-permanent residents rose to a peak of 13 thousand in the twelve months from July 2022 before turning to -1,777 in the latest year. Over ten years the unemployment rate ranged from 4.6% (May 2023) to 11.6% (June 2020).

Across geographies

What it influences

Risks

What to watch

What happened

London's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate (three-month average) was 8.1% in October 2026, from 6.7% a year earlier. For comparison, Hamilton's was 7.6%; among the six large metropolitan areas: Calgary's 6.6%, Edmonton's 7.1%, Toronto's 7.1%, Vancouver's 6.7%, Montréal's 6.9%, Ottawa–Gatineau's 7.1%. Employment of 311 thousand changed -6.2% over the year, against 6.2% in Calgary, 1.9% in Toronto and 1.2% in Vancouver.

The participation rate is 62.5% and the employment rate 57.4%, against employment rates of 66.7% in Calgary, 62.2% in Toronto and 63.4% in Vancouver. Among the eight smaller metropolitan areas covered here (Winnipeg, Halifax, Québec, Hamilton, Kitchener, London, Saskatoon, Regina) its employment rate ranks 8th of 8.

By industry, Statistics Canada's annual Labour Force Survey estimates (table 14-10-0468-01, annual averages, not seasonally adjusted) put average employment in London at 328 thousand in 2025, a change of 2.1% on the year before and of 28.0% since 2019. Goods-producing industries account for 20.0% of employed persons and services-producing industries for 80.0%; among the individual groups, health care and social assistance 15.1%, wholesale and retail trade 14.3% and manufacturing 11.7% of employment. The table counts people by the industry of their main job and by where they live, so it is a measure of employment, not of output, wages or the number of businesses. Estimates for a single industry group in one metropolitan area come from a small survey sample and are less steady than the total: Statistics Canada suppresses some cells, and the table is annual, so a one-year move in a small group should not be read as a trend. No sampling-error range is held with these series, so none is quoted. Wages for the metropolitan area are not held here; the Statistics Canada wage tables used cover provinces and Canada.

Why it happened

The data show where London stands, not why. Since the end of 2019 employment has changed 17.0% in London, 4.8% in Hamilton, 27.1% in Calgary and 10.9% in Toronto; the data held here cannot say why those paths differ.

Why it matters

Jobs matter for household income and housing demand. The employment rate says more than the unemployment rate about how much of the adult population is working, because people who stop looking for work leave the unemployment count.

History

Over ten years London's unemployment rate has averaged 6.7%, with a high of 11.6% in June 2020 and a low of 4.6% in May 2023. The Labour Force Survey series for the metropolitan area start in 2011 for employment and participation (earlier months are not held).

Across geographies

London's rate minus Hamilton's is 0.5 percentage points. As context, on a different definition (monthly, province-wide), Ontario's unemployment rate is 7.3% and Canada's 6.7%; these must not be read against the metropolitan three-month averages.

What it influences

Jobs matter for household income and housing demand in the region. No link from London's employment to another variable is measured here.

Risks

Not assessed: the exposure of London's employment to particular industries or to US demand over time, beyond what the annual industry employment shown above describes; that table does not measure exposure to US demand.

What to watch

Statistics Canada's Labour Force Survey (release dates in the calendar).

What happened

London's new housing price index changed -1.9% over the twelve months to September 2026, against -4.0% in Hamilton, -4.9% in Toronto and 0.0% in Calgary, and 0.0% over five years. National consumer price inflation was 3.1% in September 2026.

Why it happened

The series show the change, not its cause. No source cited in this section explains London's new-home price movement; the local-economy section of this page states what the published sources say about the city's housing market.

Why it matters

A new-housing price index follows the price of a constant-quality new home and so excludes resale homes and rents. It is a partial view of housing costs. Because there is no city CPI, nothing here says how fast the cost of living in London is rising.

History

London's index has changed 38.0% over ten years. Index levels are not comparable between cities because each is set to its own base.

Across geographies

London's index is on its own base, so its level cannot be compared with another city's; only the twelve-month changes in the first paragraph can, and they cover new homes only.

What it influences

Not assessed: the sources cited in this section do not link new-home prices in London to other outcomes, and no measured link is recorded for the city.

Risks

Not assessed: the risks that published sources attribute to London are in the local-economy section of this page; this section holds only the index.

What to watch

Statistics Canada's monthly New Housing Price Index release and the Consumer Price Index release (CPI dates are in the calendar).

What happened

The London metropolitan area had 633 thousand residents on July 1, 2025, 1.0% more than a year earlier. Over five years it grew 13.2%, against 7.3% in Hamilton, 20.1% in Calgary and 9.5% in Toronto. In the latest year the growth rates were 2.9% in Calgary, 3.1% in Edmonton, 0.0% in Toronto, 0.2% in Vancouver and 0.5% in Montréal. Among the eight smaller metropolitan areas covered here it ranks 5th of 8 by population.

Why it happened

In the demographic year that began in July 2024, the London metropolitan area recorded 5,808 births and 5,224 deaths, 7,025 immigrants, a net change of -1,777 non-permanent residents, net interprovincial migration of -642 and net intraprovincial migration (movement to and from the rest of the province) of 1,799. The year before, immigrants numbered 6,613 and the net change in non-permanent residents was 12 thousand. Net non-permanent residents averaged 5,919 a year over the latest five demographic years.

Why it matters

Population growth adds workers and households. A fast-growing metropolitan area can need more housing, schools and services, and it also gains consumers. Over five years London's growth was 13.2%.

History

Over ten years London's population grew 26.2%, and since 2001 it has grown 39.7%. The components of change are available from 2001.

Across geographies

On Statistics Canada's revised series, the provincial population grew 0.8% in the year to July 2025 and 0.3% in the four quarters to 1 July 2026; net interprovincial migration for Ontario over the four quarters to Q2 2026 was -18 thousand. The metropolitan area's own net interprovincial migration is among the components above.

What it influences

Population growth bears on housing demand, labour supply and public service needs. Those links are national and not measured for the city.

Risks

What to watch

Statistics Canada's next annual metropolitan population estimates and quarterly provincial estimates.

What happened

London started 3,788 homes over the past twelve months and completed 2,739. At the end of September 2026, 5,857 were under construction, 14.9% against a year earlier (Hamilton 6,733, Toronto 88,108, Vancouver 61,680, Calgary 26,252).

The New Housing Price Index for London is 136.3, -1.9% on a year ago and -6.1% since February 2022. Hamilton's index changed -4.0% over the year, Vancouver's -2.1% and Toronto's -4.9%. Index levels are not comparable across cities because each is indexed to its own base.

The value of building permits (all types, seasonally adjusted, current dollars) over the twelve months to August 2026 was C$2.7 billion, -12.4% on the twelve months before; the series starts in 2018.

In the October 2025 Rental Market Survey the average rent for a two-bedroom unit in purpose-built rental structures of three or more units in London was C$1,645 a month, 6.7% higher than a year earlier (CMHC's same-sample figure, for structures surveyed in both years, is 4.1%) and 35.3% higher than five years earlier, ranking 8th of 14 among fourteen cities (highest = 1); the same measure was C$1,908 in Calgary, C$2,045 in Toronto, C$2,364 in Vancouver. The vacancy rate was 3.8%, from 2.8% a year earlier, ranking joint 3rd of 14 among the fourteen (against 3.8% in Edmonton, 4.9% in Calgary, 3.0% in Toronto, 3.7% in Vancouver). The table covers purpose-built rental structures only; condominium, house and basement-suite rentals, and the asking rents on new listings, are not in it.

Why it happened

The data show how much is being built and what is happening to new-home prices; they do not separate demand, land and construction costs, interest rates and incomes. In 2026 the posted five-year mortgage rate went from 6.09% in January to 6.19% on 28 October 2026, and the posted one-year rate from 5.84% to 5.49% (see the Canada report).

Why it matters

Housing is a large household expense. New-home prices are one part of the picture: resale prices are not included, and the rent figures above cover purpose-built rental structures only.

History

The monthly peak of units under construction in the past ten years was 6,763 in May 2026, and the lowest was 2,361 in October 2016.

Across geographies

On the comparison with the large cities, over the twelve months to September 2026 units under construction changed 14.9% in London, -3.7% in Hamilton, -4.2% in Toronto, -2.3% in Vancouver and 4.0% in Edmonton. Counts depend on city size and are not rates per person.

What it influences

The Bank of Canada describes a link between mortgage costs and housing, and CMHC a link between supply and affordability; neither is estimated for London.

Risks

What to watch

CMHC's monthly starts, Statistics Canada's New Housing Price Index and building permits (release dates in the calendar), and the Bank of Canada's next announcement on 9 December 2026.

What happened

In the 2021 Census, 215 thousand jobs were located in the London metropolitan area (people who worked at home or had a usual workplace there; people with no fixed workplace address are not in the table). The three largest sectors were Health care and social assistance (17.4% of jobs), Retail trade (12.2%) and Manufacturing (11.2%).

Measured as its share of jobs divided by the six large metropolitan areas' combined share (among sectors that make up at least one fiftieth of London's jobs), the sector in which London stood furthest above them was Manufacturing: 11.2% of its jobs, against 5.1% in Calgary, 6.4% in Edmonton, 9.5% in Toronto, 6.6% in Vancouver, 10.0% in Montréal, 3.4% in Ottawa–Gatineau. The ranking is fixed to these 2021 Census figures.

Why it happened

Not assessed. The table counts jobs by sector at one date and says nothing about why a metropolitan area has the mix it has. Attributed descriptions of London's industry structure are in the local-economy section of this page.

Why it matters

The industry mix shows what a local economy does for a living, which bears on how it is exposed to changes in demand, prices and policy. It does not measure output, wages or how the economy is performing; those need other tables.

History

Not available from this table: the Census is taken every five years and the platform holds only the 2021 reference week (May 2021). Annual industry employment for the metropolitan area comes from the Labour Force Survey and is in the labour section of this page.

Across geographies

The metropolitan areas come from one table with one definition, so the shares can be compared with one another. They are not comparable with provincial Labour Force Survey industry shares, which use a different survey, year and definition. Ontario's provincial industry mix is on its province page.

What it influences

Not assessed. No relationship in the recorded graph links the metropolitan industry mix to another variable.

Risks

What to watch

The release of 2026 Census results on industry for metropolitan areas. No release date for them is in the calendar this site holds, and none is assumed.

What happened

Most recorded connections that reach London are provincial or national. Ontario's exposure to the United States is 72% of its goods exports in 2025 (total domestic goods exports C$266.0 billion), and energy products are 1% of that total; the national export shares are 72% to the United States and 4.5% to China.

Oil prices and metropolitan employment are compared in the relationship graph only for Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto; London is not compared.

Why it happened

Not assessed. Trade and investment links that published sources describe for London are in the local-economy section of this page; no city-level trade data are held.

Why it matters

The currency, interest rates and trade partners that matter for London are covered at national level in the Global report: one US dollar cost an average of C$1.4135 in October 2026; Canada's posted five-year mortgage rate was 6.19% in the week of 28 October 2026, and it rose 0.10 percentage points over the year to then. The US ten-year Treasury yield was 4.84% on 5 November 2026 and Canada's ten-year yield 3.67% on 5 November 2026; how much of any move in either reaches London's housing market is not measured here.

History

Not assessed.

Across geographies

What it influences

Three chains bear on London: US trade measures to exports (hypotheses nationally, with sourced provincial statements), rates to mortgage costs and housing (documented nationally) and immigration policy to population and rental vacancy (documented nationally and, with no measured size, for the metropolitan area).

Risks

The risks that published sources attribute to this city specifically are in the local-economy section of this page; beyond those, see the national risks in the Canada report and the global risks in the Global report.

What to watch

The Bank of Canada's next announcement on 9 December 2026, tariff changes and Statistics Canada's monthly trade release (calendar).