Canada’s unemployment rate was unchanged in August at 5.5% following three consecutive monthly increases.
Statistics Canada, which released the data, said employment rose by 40,000 positions in August. However, the increase in employment was outpaced by population growth of 103,000 people who entered Canada through immigration.
Consequently, the employment rate, or the proportion of the population aged 15 and older who are employed, declined 0.1 percentage points to 61.9% in August.
Employment increased among men (up 33,000) and women (up 21,000), while employment declined among male youth (down 29,000).
Among sectors of the economy, employment increased in professional, scientific and technical services (up 52,000) and construction (up 34,000).
However, those gains were offset by employment declines in educational services (down 44,000) and manufacturing (down 30,000).
Looking across the country, employment rose in Alberta (up 18,000) and British Columbia (up 12,000) but fell in Nova Scotia (down 3,600).
The number of self-employed workers rose by 50,000 in August, the first increase among that group in nine months.
Average hourly wages increased 5% in August to $33.47 after experiencing a similar rise in July of this year.
Statistics Canada noted that, among people who were unemployed in July, 57.8% remained unemployed in August, a greater proportion than 12 months earlier.
