Canada's unemployment rate ticked upwards for the first time in seven months in August, rising half a percentage point to 5.4 per cent.
Windsor's jobless rate also increased last month from 6.5 per cent in July to 7.5 per cent, as the economy shed 4,600 jobs.
The city's labour participation rate also fell a full percentage point to 57.9 per cent from July, but the city's labour force, those employed along with those unemployed and looking for work, also dropped 1.7 per cent, or by 3,100.
Ontario's jobless rate also rose 0.4 percentage points last month to 5.7 per cent.
The national economy lost 40,000 net positions. Most of those losses were among workers aged 15-to-24 and women 55 and older.
(Photo courtesy of LiUNA 625)
While there were gains in some service sectors, the sciences, and technical services, losses in construction and educational services offset those.
August's Labour Force Survey asked students how many were leaving work to return to school. The percentage was on par with past years at 55.6 per cent.
It also asked how many workers planned to leave their positions to retire by the end of the year. That figure was 307,000, up from 233,000 last year and 273,000 in 2019.
August's survey found that almost 12 per cent of workers plan to leave their job within the next 12 months, up from just 5.5 per cent in January.
These factors suggest the labour market continues to tighten, and the Canadian Survey on Business Challenges, conducted in the third quarter, said two-fifths of businesses expect recruitment for skilled jobs to remain an obstacle. That is despite an increase in the number of Canadians seeking work, up 106,000 in August since June. Canada currently has 989,000 unemployed and 1,038,000 vacancies.
The total number of hours worked was unchanged from July, when it slipped 0.5 per cent. However, year over year, that climbed by 3.7 per cent.
Canadians continue to earn more. The survey said the average hourly wage increased 5.4 per cent from last August after gains in June and July.
Comparing Canada's unemployment rate to the United States, using metrics used across the border, the national rate was 4.2 per cent compared to 3.7 per cent in the U.S.
