Canada jobless rate stays flat in June

TORONTO, July 8 (UPI) -- Canada's June unemployment rate remained at 6.1 percent with flat job growth, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

Figures from Statistics Canada show the weak June followed a strong May, when the unemployment rate fell 0.3 percentage points to 6.1 percent, the lowest since December 1974.

The difference came in job creation. In June, full-time jobs dropped by about 67,100, CBC News said. In May, it rose by 96,700.

One analyst, BMO Nesbitt Burns Deputy Chief Economist Douglas Porter, said June counterbalances a hot May and could cause affect how the Bank of Canada sets interest rates.

The Bank of Canada's next decision on interest rates is scheduled Tuesday.