Unemployment rate ticks up to 7 per cent in May, says StatCan

According to Statistics Canada, the national unemployment rate ticked up to 7 per cent in May. That’s the third consecutive increase since February, and the highest it’s been since 2016.

Wholesale and retail trade sectors contributed the most to job gains, but were offset by significant losses in public administration and manufacturing.

There were 1.6 million unemployed Canadians in May – an uptick of 13.8 per cent year over year.

The average duration of unemployment appears to be rising as well. On average, people reported spending 21.8 weeks searching for work – up from 18.4 weeks in May 2024.

Additionally, nearly half (46.5%) of respondents also reported that they had not worked in the previous 12 months.

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