Statistics Canada says the country’s unemployment rate fell to 7.1% in August from 7.2% the previous month.
59,000 net jobs were created last month, most of them part-time, with the biggest employment gains in Ontario and Alberta. The agency says there were increases in health-care and social assistance, offsetting a decline in July. Workers aged 55 and older saw the biggest gains, with little change amongst the 25 to 54 age group.
In Hamilton, the unemployment rate was at 6.5%, and was 8.6% in the Niagara region.