Canada’s labour market was surprisingly strong last month, when 77-thousand full-time positions were created.
As a result of the full-time work, Statistics Canada says 54,500 net new jobs were gained overall – far more than expected.
The national unemployment rate edged up to 6.6 per cent, however, as more people entered the job market.
A consensus of economists had expected job gains of 11,000 last month and for the unemployment rate to move up to 6.6 per cent, according to Thomson Reuters.
There were an estimated 1,500 more people working in PEI in May, and the unemployment rate for the province was little changed at 10.0%. On a year-over-year basis, employment in the province was up 3,400 or 4.7%.