P.E.I. unemployment jumped to 12.5% in June, says Statistics Canada

The unemployment rate jumped almost three points on P.E.I. in June, a combination of a rush of people into the work force and a loss of full-time jobs.

Statistics Canada released the Labour Force Survey for June on Friday morning.

The rate rose from 9.6 per cent in May to 12.5 per cent. It is the highest unemployment rate in the province since last June, just before the Atlantic bubble opened.

The rate has been under 10 per cent since December.

The Prince Edward Island economy dropped 1,400 jobs, all of them full time. The loss came as another 1,300 Islanders entered the labour force looking for work.

In all that left 11,100 people unemployed, up from 8,400 in May.

"Compared with the February2020pre-pandemic level, the employment gap was largest in Prince Edward Island (-4.9%), followed by Saskatchewan (-2.8%), Manitoba (-2.5%) and Ontario (-2.5%)," Statistics Canada noted.

"In contrast, British Columbia was the lone province with employment above its pre-pandemic level."

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