Canada Unemployment Rate Drops in May

(MENAFN) Canada's labor market delivered a robust performance in May, with employment surging by 88,000 positions — a 0.4 percent gain — as the national employment rate climbed 0.2 percentage points to 60.7 percent, Statistics Canada announced Friday.

Job growth cut broadly across demographics, with core-aged women, core-aged men, and youth between the ages of 15 and 24 all registering employment gains, the federal statistical agency said.

Sectoral momentum was especially pronounced in construction, information, culture and recreation, transportation and warehousing, and accommodation and food services — industries that collectively drove the headline expansion. Wholesale and retail trade, however, bucked the trend, recording a decline in employment over the same period, the agency noted.

In a further sign of labor market resilience, the national unemployment rate dropped 0.3 percentage points to 6.6 percent. Youth unemployment fell even more sharply, sliding 0.9 percentage points to 13.4 percent, while jobless rates also eased among core-aged women and core-aged men.

Wage growth added to the positive picture: average hourly earnings among employees rose 3 percent year-over-year in May, reaching 37.24 Canadian dollars — equivalent to 26.73 U.S. dollars — Statistics Canada reported.

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