Ottawa's unemployment rate increases to 6.5 per cent

Ottawa's unemployment rate increased to 6.5 per cent this summer, as more people entered the workforce in the national capital region.

Statistics Canada says the unemployment rate increased from 6.3 per cent in July to 6.5 per cent in August.

The statistics show 658,000 people were employed in Ottawa last month, up from 650,000 in July. The number of unemployed people increased from 43,400 in June to 45,900 in July.

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Ottawa's unemployment rate has increased from 4.9 per cent in August 2023.

Despite the rise in the unemployment rate, Ottawa's rate is lower than other major Canadian cities, including Toronto (8 per cent), Montreal (6.8 per cent), Calgary (7.5 per cent), and Edmonton (8.6 per cent). Vancouver's unemployment rate is 5.9 per cent.

Gatineau's unemployment rate increased from 6.3 per cent in July to 6.8 per cent in August.

Across Canada, the unemployment rate edged up to 6.6 per cent in August, despite the economy adding 22,100 new jobs in August.

StatsCan says the rise in unemployment was highest amongst youth aged 15 to 24, with the joblessness rate the highest in eight years. The unemployment rate for returning students was 16.7 per cent.

The Bank of Canada cut its key policy rate 25 basis points on Wednesday to 4.25 per cent. Governor Tiff Macklem suggested that deeper rate cuts could be implemented if the economy needed support.

The unemployment rate increased to 6.4 per cent in Kingston and 5.9 per cent in Belleville.

With files from Reuters