A hefty drop in Ontario manufacturing jobs dragged Canadian employment down by 42,000 jobs during the month of May, pulling the unemployment rate up to an 11-year high, Statistics Canada reported on Friday.

The unemployment rate rose by 0.4 percentage points to 8.4% in May. Since the employment peak of October 2008, unemployment has risen by 363,000, or 2.1 percentage points.

The decrease in employment was widely expected given the announced shutdowns in the auto sector in May. It acts as a reminder that Canada’s labour market remains weak, economists say.

“While the worst is now behind us, the economy is still fragile. We expect labour market weakness to continue in the coming months, with the unemployment rate continuing to creep up, albeit at a slower pace,” said CIBC World Markets economist Krishen Rangasamy.

But others point out that the slower pace of employment declines in recent months is a step in the right direction.

“The cumulative decline in Canadian employment during the last three months of 67,200 is much less pronounced compared to the 232,000 drop recorded in the previous three-month period,” said Paul Ferley, assistant chief economist at RBC Economics Research. “This provides support to the view that, following the 5.4% drop in first-quarter GDP, its pace of decline will ease in the second quarter, with the improving trend continuing through the end of the year.”

Ontario was the only province to experience a substantial employment decline in May, down 60,000, bringing total losses since October to 234,000. Although Ontario accounts for 39% of the total working-age population, it has experienced 64% of overall employment losses since the start of the labour market downturn, Statscan reported.

Ontario’s unemployment rate in May rose by 0.7 percentage points from the previous month to 9.4%, the highest in 15 years.

Meanwhile, other provinces registered gains in May. Manitoba and Saskatchewan added employment in May with gains of 3,900 and 3,100 respectively. Both provinces had an unemployment rate of 4.9%, the lowest in the country, and are the only two provinces with an increase in employment since last October.

Nova Scotia added 3,600 jobs in May, following two months of declines.

In all other provinces, there was little change in employment in May.

Manufacturing employment continued on its downward trend with a decline of 58,000 in May, mostly in Ontario. Other industries of decline included transportation and warehousing, down 16,000 jobs, while public administration was the only industry with a notable employment increase, adding 19,000 jobs.

Almost 60,000 full-time jobs were lost, while part-time employment has continued to trend up, adding 17,000 jobs in May.