National unemployment rate hits new record even as economy adds jobs
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada reports a record high unemployment rate as the economy added 289,600 jobs in May, with businesses reopening amid easing public health restrictions.
The unemployment rate rose to 13.7 per cent, topping the previous high of 13.1 per cent set in December 1982 in more than four decades of comparable data.
Saskatchewan’s unemployment rate increased to 12.5 per cent, up from 11.3 in the previous month. Only Manitoba, at 11.2 per cent, was lower.
The increase in the national unemployment rate came as more people started looking for work.