Canadian unemployment holds at 7.1%

The unemployment rate in Canada was unchanged at 7.1 percent in June although job growth has slowed, the government's data office said Friday. Statistics Canada said an average 14,000 jobs were added to the Canadian economy each month in the first half of 2013. However, in the last two quarters of 2012, an average of 27,000 jobs were added to the economy each month. In the past 12 month, employment grew by 1.4 percent on the addition of 242,000 jobs. Hours worked also increased, rising by 0.6 percent, StatsCan said. Data show employment in professional, scientific and technical service jobs grew by 27,000 in June and have gained by 4.9 percent in 12 months. June also included sharp declines in food service work, which lost 20,000 jobs, and information, culture and recreation, which dropped 15,000 positions. Manufacturing jobs were little changed in June, as a sharp decline in the first three months of the year in manufacturing has slowed. Among private sector jobs, employment is up 1.2 percent or by 137,000 jobs in the past 12 months "with all the gains in the second half of 2012," StatsCan said. Public sector jobs, more evenly spread out month to month, have risen by 1.5 percent or by 55,000 jobs in the past 12 months. Self-employed jobs rose by 1.9 percent or 51,000 jobs in the past 12 months, the lion's share coming in the first three months of 2013, the agency said.