Canada Loses 68,000 Jobs in May, Unemployment Rises to 8.2% - Survey

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th June, 2021) Employment in Canada fell by 68,000 or 0.4 percent in May adding to a decline of 207,000 in April and resulted in the unemployment rate increase to 8.2 percent amid the third wave of coronavirus health restrictions, the state statistics agency said on Friday.

"Employment fell by 68,000 (-0.4%) in May, adding to a decline of 207,000 in April. The unemployment rate was little changed at 8.2%," Statistics Canada said in its monthly Labor Force Survey. "Ontario and Nova Scotia accounted for most of the overall employment decline in May."

The survey found that the number of people employed in manufacturing fell by 36,000 or 2 percent in May making it the first decline in the industry since April 2020.

The Canada economy also saw a decline in retail (-29,000) and "other services" (-24,000) employment due to the ongoing public health restrictions, according to the survey results.

In May, the total number of employed Canadians was 18.56 million compared to 18.8 million in March that marked the highest employment rate since the beginning of pandemic.

Conservative Party Leader Erin O'Toole blamed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government for the job losses, admonishing the Canadian leader for a faltering vaccination regime that he says spurred the latest wave of the pandemic that is not being felt in countries like the United States and the United Kingdom.