LONDON, ONT. -- Up until two weeks ago, Dustin Matheson of London was among the unemployed.

Losing his full-time IT job six months ago he was finding it tough to find employment.

“It was very hard I think I applied to five or six different places didn't even get a call back,” says Matheson.

He landed on his feet after getting a job at a new cannabis store on Fanshawe Park Road called One Plant.

“It's been nothing but full-time hours and they provided me work since the crisis,” says Matheson.

Even opening the new business was a gamble for owner Kirk Anast.

“It's very tough times right now, so we definitely took a chance here.” says Anast.

He’s aware of the stark unemployment figures because of all the applications he has received.

“Right now we have about 12 staff and there's a pile of resumes, we're trying to get through all of them, people are looking for work right now.” says Anast.

The latest job figures show unemployment in London and St. Thomas at 12.6 per cent in June. That’s almost double when you compare it to February of this year.

Acting Mayor Jesse Helmer says urban centres are the hardest hit in the province.

“I think it goes to show you the kind of impacts are not even”, sasy Helmer.

“You've got certain areas like restaurants, bars and major entertainment venues like Bud Gardens, and the casino, they're still severely impacted by the pandemic.”

Helmer says the city is trying to tackle the unemployment situation next week with the new Community Recovery Network.

“Until there's a vaccine, we're going to be dealing with the impact of this virus on our community for a long time.” added Helmer.