Employment in Canada fell by 68,000 jobs in May compared to April, Statistics Canada reported today. A lion’s share of the losses occurred in part-time employment, which fell by 54,200. Full-time employment fell by 13,800. Statistics Canada noted increased Covid-19 restriction in several provinces.
Canada’s unemployment rate edged up to 8.2% in May from 8.1% in April.
The number of private-sector employees fell by 60,400 in May while the number of public-sector employees fell by 10,100. However, the number of self-employed workers rose by 2,600.
In total, Canada had 18.56 million jobs in May.
Looking at just Ontario, the number of jobs fell by 31,600 month-over-month in May to 7.18 million. Ontario saw a decline of 22,500 part-time jobs and a decline of 9,100 full-time jobs. The unemployment rate rose to 9.3% in May from 9.0% in April.