The unemployment rate rose to 5.4% last month in Canada, up 0.5 percentage points from July’s 4.9%, which was at a record low.
In August, the national unemployment rate rose for the first time in seven months. It was also the first rise that did not come as a result of tightened public health restrictions since May 2020, when the unemployment rate peaked amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Statistics Canada reports that employment fell by 40,000 nationwide in August, or 0.2%, mainly due to a decline among young people aged 15 to 24 and people aged 55 to 64 .
The federal agency says the decline in employment seen since May has occurred mainly in full-time employment. Nonetheless, full-time employment in August was up 3.9% from 12 months earlier, while part-time employment was little changed over the same period.
Statistics Canada adds that in Quebec, the unemployment rate for the month of August was measured at 4.5%, up 0.4 percentage points. The province was the only province in the country to post an increase in employment in August, by 27,000, and Statistics Canada observed that there were also a greater number of Quebeckers looking for work.
The unemployment rate rose between July and August in all three Maritime provinces. In Nova Scotia, it went from 5.9% to 7.6%; in New Brunswick, it increased from 7.1% to 7.6% while in Prince Edward Island, it went from 5.7% to 7.3%.
Statistics Canada also reports that the average hourly wage of employees in Canada posted a 5.4% increase over 12 months in August, compared to increases of 5.2% recorded in June and July.