Canada’s unemployment rate improved slightly to 6.7% in June from May’s 6.8%, Statistics Canada reported today.

Last month’s jobless rate was the lowest since June 2000.

The economy added a total of 14,000 new jobs last month.


Roughly 52,000 full-time jobs were created in June, StatsCan said, but this was offset by the loss of 38,000 part-time jobs.

Employment in the construction sector increased by 21,000 in June, making up for a decline in May. Last month’s increase leaves employment in construction up 7.6% since June 2004.

Employment in education was up 11,000 in June.

On the down side, employment in transportation and warehousing fell by 19,000 in June, eliminating most of the gains made in May. Declines in June were mainly in scenic and sightseeing transportation as well as in warehousing and storage.

Employment also declined by about 15,000 positions in information, culture and recreation with losses mainly in amusement, gambling and recreation as well as in broadcasting and telecommunications.

Meanwhile, the summer job market for students between the ages of 20 and 24 showed signs of slowing last month. The employment rate for this group of students was 69.6%, which is down 3 percentage points from a year earlier.

The proportion of students employed in June 2005, while below last June’s level, was higher than in any other June since 1995, Statistics Canada added.