Canada says joblessness rose slightly in June to 6%

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Canada's unemployment rate rose slightly last month to six per cent of the active population, the national statistical institute announced today.

That was slightly higher than analysts' predictions of a 5.8 per cent rate. The Canadian economy added 31,800 jobs for the month, but with 75,000 people entering the work force the jobless rate rose 0.2 per cent from May, Statistics Canada said.

In all, 22,700 part-time jobs and 9,100 full-time positions were created in June. The construction, natural resources and manufacturing sectors saw the greatest job creation, while employment declined in hospitality and food services, as well as in agriculture.

Summer brought good news for some young people, as the number of those aged 20 to 24 finding jobs last month rose by 26,000, up 5.4 per cent from June 2017.

But among all those aged 15 to 24, an increase of 27,000 job-seekers pushed the unemployment rate up 0.6 percentage points from May, to 11.7 per cent.

The greatest numbers of new jobs were reported in the provinces of Ontario (35,000), Saskatchewan (8,300) and Manitoba (4,100), Statistics Canada said.