The Canadian economy added 83,000 jobs in June amid an unexpected surge in hiring.
Statistics Canada said the unemployment rate last month was 6.9 per cent, down slightly from May’s seven per cent.
It’s the first time since January that employment has increased.
StatsCan said that most of the jobs added in June (70,000) were part-time, however. Most of the jobs, 47,000, were also in the private sector.
In British Columbia, the unemployment rate declined from 6.4 per cent in May to 5.8 per cent last month.
That’s despite full-time employment in the province declining by about 16,000 jobs.
Across BC, the unemployment rates in June (May in brackets) were:
Kelowna: 6.2 per cent (7.0)
Kamloops: 9.2 per cent (8.5)
Chilliwack: 6.1 per cent (5.9)
Abbotsford-Mission: 6.5 per cent (7.0)
Vancouver: 6.2 per cent (6.4)
Victoria: 3.9 per cent (3.7)
Nanaimo: 7.4 per cent (7.3)
Reacting to the figures, BC Minister of Jobs Diana Gibson said they show "the work BC is doing to push forward on job creation, investment and economic development, despite the uncertain and challenging geopolitical climate we are facing from south of the border."
She added: "We know that the uncertainty of US President Donald J. Trump's tariff threats is proving extremely challenging for businesses. We're doing everything we can to defend BC businesses and help open new markets and new opportunities so they can continue to grow."
Her opposite number in the BC Conservative Party, however, had a very different take on the data.
"Only the Eby NDP would try to spin more part-time gigs, fewer full-time careers, and the highest youth jobless rate since the 1990s as good news," Gavin Dew said in a statement.
He added: "This isn’t a strong economy. It’s a stalled economy – where young people can’t find work, businesses are too weighed down to hire, and the government keeps pretending everything’s fine. It's an anemic economy being asked to carry the weight of a bloated government, because public sector employment has massively outstripped private sector jobs for years under the NDP."
Across Canada, the retail and wholesale sector grew by 34,000 jobs, while healthcare and social assistance increased by 17,000.
Smaller increases were also seen in professional, scientific and technical services; manufacturing; accommodation and food services; construction; information, culture and recreation; finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing.
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Despite the overall increase in manufacturing, the metropolitan area with the highest unemployment rate was Windsor, Ont., at 11.2 per cent.
The city has been hit by US tariffs on automobiles.
The jobs data come on the same day that Canada digests President Donald Trump’s latest threat of slapping a 35 per cent tariff on Canadian goods.
They also arrive 19 days before the Bank of Canada announces its latest interest rate decision on July 30.
The bank’s rate is currently at 2.75 per cent.
