Canadian employment saw little change in August with the unemployment rate inching up by just 0.1 percent to 7.3%. There was some good news for younger workers as people aged 25 to 54 saw employment gains last month, but these were offset by job losses for workers aged 55 and over.

Over the past year, employment has increased 1.3%, or 223,000 new jobs, with Ontario and Alberta seeing the largest gains. While full-time employment has increased by 2.2% or 300,000 jobs, part-time work has gone down by 2.3%, representing a loss of some 77,000 part-time jobs.

Growth and losses in key sectors

In August, the health care and social assistance fields saw employment growth with over 50,000 new jobs being created, while there were employment losses in construction (-24,000 jobs); transportation and warehousing (-14,000); and natural resources (-12,000).

Regionally

August saw employment gains in Nova Scotia, with Newfoundland and Labrador and Saskatchewan showing job losses. The employment rates remained little changed in Alberta, Ontario and Quebec.

Summer student employment

Over the summer, the average unemployment rate for students from age 15 to 24 was 17.2%, which is up from last year’s student unemployment rate of 16.9%.