The win streak stopped last month for progress on the Canadian job front.
Figures released Friday by Statistics Canada showed our economy lost 51,600 jobs in August, with losses in part-time work overtaking gains in full-time employment. The jobless rate rose to 6% from 5.8%.
The agency added that, on a year-over-year basis, employment grew by 172,000 or 0.9%. Full-time employment increased 326,000 or 2.2%, while the number of people working part-time declined 154,000 or 4.3%. Over the same period, total hours worked were up 1.6%.
After two consecutive monthly increases, employment in Ontario fell by 80,000 in August. On a year-over-year basis, employment increased by 79,000, or 1.1%. The Ontario unemployment rate rose 0.3 percentage points in August, to 5.7%.
Employment in Alberta increased by 16,000, and the unemployment rate remained at 6.7% as more people participated in the labour market. Compared with August 2017, employment grew by 53,000, or 2.3%, mostly in full-time work.
