Canadian unemployment eases in June

OTTAWA, July 10 (UPI) -- Canada's unemployment rate nudged up 0.2 percentage points to 8.6 percent in June, Statistics Canada reported Friday.

The hardest-hit group was youth in the 15-24 age bracket, where 33,000 jobs were lost in June, the report said. Among that group, the unemployment rate rose 1 percent to 15.9 percent, the highest rate in 11 years, StatsCan said.

"Self-employment rose by 37,000 in June, while the number of employees in the private sector decreased by 39,000," the agency said. "Since October, self-employment has grown by 1.5 percent, whereas the number of employees has declined by 3.3 percent in the private sector and 1.4 percent in the public sector."

Among sectors, manufacturing continued leading job losses, with 26,000 jobs lost in June, with a regional shift in declines from Ontario to Quebec.

The month's employment gains were in information, culture and recreation, which saw an increase of 26,000 jobs and finance, insurance, real estate and leasing, which gained 21,000 jobs, the report said.