Image Credit: The Canadian Press
UNEMPLOYMENT

Unemployment rate defies analyst predictions

Jul 5, 2019 | 7:47 AM

OTTAWA — Canada’s unemployment rate went up in June.

It rose 0.1 points last month to 5.5 per cent as more people sought work according to Statscan, matching estimates.

The economy lost 2,200 jobs in June, although during the April to June quarter 132,000 jobs were added.

In Vancouver, the jobless rate sits at 4.0 per cent, down from 4.2 from the month before.

Even with the small decline, the numbers show the economy added 248,000 new positions — almost all of which were full time — over the first half of the year.

That’s the strongest six-month stretch of job growth to start a year since 2002.

The B.C. rate is also up in June. The rate in British Columbia went up to 4.5 percent. That’s two-tenths of a point higher than the 4.3 percent in May.

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