OTTAWA, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Canada's unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage points to 5.2 percent in May, the first increase in nine months, Statistics Canada said on Friday.
According to the national statistical agency, the youth (aged 15 to 24) unemployment rate was 10.7 percent in May, up 1.1 percentage points from April. Among people aged 55 and older, the unemployment rate edged up 0.2 percentage points to 4.1 percent. The unemployment rate for those in the core working age (25 to 54) was 4.3 percent without monthly change.
Overall employment was little changed in May, as employment fell by 77,000 for youth, and it increased by 63,000 among people in the core working age, the agency said.
The employment rate, the percentage of people aged 15 and older who are employed, declined by 0.3 percentage points to 62.1 percent in May. This reflected strong population growth in the month and little change in employment, the agency said.
The number of employees held steady in the private and public sector, while there was a decline in the number of self-employed workers, said Statistics Canada.
