Report: Canadian jobs increasing

OTTAWA -- Employment growth in Canada resumed in June by an estimated 35,000 workers after two months of little change, on a par with job growth the first half of 2006.

Despite the new jobs, national unemployment remained at 6.1 percent for the fifth consecutive month, a government report said.

The increase in full-time employment in June affected mainly adult women aged 25 and over. The number of male workers in Canada showed little change.

Employment in Quebec increased by an estimated 22,000, all in full-time work, pushing the unemployment rate down 0.3 percentage points to 6.9 percent, the lowest in 33 years.

Alberta and New Brunswick joined Quebec with the most jobs in June, while Newfoundland, Labrador and Saskatschewan recorded employment declines.

Ontario, which accounts for nearly 40 percent of total employment in Canada, registered growth of only 0.4 percent over the past six months.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International.