Rate continues stagnant summer job market in Canada
The rate of unemployment in Canada rose to 7.3 per cent in August, edging up 0.1 percentage point, according to Statistics Canada.
The economy lost 5,500 jobs last month. Full-time employment was up by 25,700, which was offset by a decline of 31,200 part-time workers. Private-sector employment dropped by 20,600, while there were 22,000 more workers in the public sector. There were also 6,900 fewer self-employed Canadians last month, according to the data.
The bulk of the employment losses were seen in construction, transportation and warehousing, and natural resources. Construction fell by 24,000 in August, following three months of little change, although employment in this industry is up 3.0 per cent compared with 12 months earlier. Employment in transportation and warehousing declined by 14,000 in August. Despite this loss, this industry posted the highest growth rate for the second month in a row with an increase of 6.3 per cent over the past 12 months.
Employment increased by 4,100 jobs in Nova Scotia last month, pushing the unemployment rate down 0.6 points to 8.9 per cent. Newfoundland and Labrador saw a decline of 3,400 jobs in August, leaving employment up slightly by 0.7 per cent from 12 months earlier.
Alberta and Ontario experienced little change in August, as their unemployment rates remained unchanged at 5.6 per cent and 7.5 per cent, respectively. However, over the year, both Alberta and Ontario had employment growth above the national average. Alberta led the way at 4.2 per cent adding 86,000 jobs, and Ontario posting the second highest growth rate of 1.5 per cent, adding 102,000 jobs over the year.
In the United States, no jobs outside the farm sector were added to the market in August, keeping the unemployment rate at 9.1 per cent. Businesses added 17,000 jobs across different sectors, while governments trimmed 17,000 jobs.
