Canada’s Unemployment Rate Rose to 5.4 Percent in June, Economy Added 60,000 Jobs: StatCan

A masked worker walks behind a hiring sign on his way into the Dover Cliffs long term care home in Port Dover, Ontario, on Nov. 13, 2020. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press)

Canada added another 60,000 jobs to its economy in June despite the country’s unemployment rate ticking upward to its highest percentage in over a year, says Statistics Canada.

StatCan wrote in its “Labour Force Survey“ for June that the increase in jobs, which it says was driven mostly by gains in full-time work, brought Canada’s employment rate up by 0.3 percent.

Nationwide job gains were concentrated in wholesale and retail trade, health care and social assistance, manufacturing, and transportation and warehousing, said StatCan.

The country’s unemployment rate rose to 5.4 percent—an increase of 0.2 percentage points—during the same month, which the federal agency says is the highest unemployment level Canada has seen in over a year.

Canada’s unemployment rate also rose by 0.2 percentage points in May.

“The increase brought the rate to its highest level since February 2022,” StatCan wrote, adding that 1.1 million people across the country were jobless in June—representing an increase of 54,000 over May.

Contributing to the increased number of jobless Canadians in June was a dip in the number of students working at the beginning of summer, says StatCan.

Just over 53 percent of female returning students aged 15 to 24 were employed last month, compared to 56.7 percent of a similar grouping being employed in June 2022.

StatCan also noted that the employment rate of male returning students aged 15 to 24 in June was just under 50 percent, changed little compared to June 2022.

Differences in provincial overall employment rates in June also played a factor, with job numbers increasing in Ontario, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador, while falling in Prince Edward Island and staying relatively the same in all other provinces.

StatCan says PEI’s unemployment rate rose by a full percentage point to 8.2 in June.

The slight rise in national unemployment levels could come as a warning signal to the Bank of Canada ahead of its interest rate decision on July 12.

The central bank has aggressively increased interest rates since March 2022 in a bid to cool off Canada’s economy and bring down high inflation levels.

Canada’s economy has increased employment almost every month in 2023, with the largest gain coming in January when the economy added 150,000 new jobs.

Statistics Canada said in March that Canada’s employment rate has generally trended upward since September 2022 as it recovered from large job losses during the pandemic.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.