Canada’s unemployment rate inched up to 7% in May as employment across the country remained little changed during the month.
Statistics Canada said only 8,800 net new jobs were created nationwide in May, a level that essentially resulted in no growth within the labour market.
Consequently, Canada’s employment rate held steady at 60.8% and the unemployment rate rose 0.1 percentage points to 7% for the month of May.
At 7%, Canada’s unemployment rate is at a nine-year high, excluding the pandemic years of 2020 to 2022.
Employment among core-aged women (25 to 54 years old) increased by 42,000 in May, while among core-aged men it fell by 31,000.
Employment was virtually unchanged for youth and people over age 55, said Ottawa-based Statistics Canada.
Among sectors of the economy, employment in May grew in wholesale and retail trade (up 43,000); information, culture and recreation (up 19,000); and finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing (up 12,000).
On the reverse side, employment fell in public administration (down 32,000), accommodation and food services (down 16,000), and transportation and warehousing (down 16,000).
Among the provinces, employment increased in British Columbia (up 13,000), Nova Scotia (up 11,000), and New Brunswick (up 7,600).
Jobs were shed in Quebec (down 17,000), Manitoba (down 5,800) and Prince Edward Island (down 2,700). There was little change in other areas of Canada.
Total hours worked were unchanged in May but were up 0.9% compared with a year earlier.
Average hourly wages among workers increased 3.4% to $36.14 on a year-over-year basis in May, the same growth rate as seen in April, according to StatsCan.
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