Jobless rate in Canada drops in June
According to Statistics Canada the Canadian economy added 7,300 new jobs last month, bringing the overall unemployment rate down to 7.2%. Even this modest growth was enough to surprise most economists who had predicted that the jobless rate would remain unchanged.
Despite the slow growth last month, employment in Canada has still risen by over 180,000 mostly full-time jobs since this time last year. This is largely thanks to the strong job creation seen in March and April.
Most of the employment gains seen in June were in Ontario. That province added 20,000 new jobs, while employment in the rest of the country remained little changed.
Unemployment among young people aged 15 to 24 also continues to be stubbornly high. The jobless rate for this group has been stuck at around the 13% level, or nearly double the national average, since the start of the recession in 2009.
The latest US job numbers were also released today. The economy in that country added 80,000 new jobs in June – fewer that analysts had been predicting. The US unemployment rate is currently at 8.2%.
