Canadian jobless claims down in June

OTTAWA, Aug. 23 (UPI) -- There were 4,500 fewer Canadians receiving federal jobless benefits in June than in May, Statistics Canada reported Thursday from Ottawa.

The number of Employment Insurance recipients declined to 507,600 in June, when the national unemployment rate was 7.2 percent.

On an annual basis, the number of beneficiaries was down 62,900 -- 13.1 percent -- from June 2011, the agency said.

Regionally, New Brunswick saw an 8.9 percent jump in claims, followed by Alberta with an 8.6 percent gain.

In Toronto, the country's largest city, 51,200 people received benefits in June, down 17 percent on a monthly basis, the report said.