Canada Added 2,90,000 Jobs in May but Unemployment Rate Still Increased

Canadian employment rose by 2,90,000 or 1.8 percent in May, the government statistical agency said Friday, as restrictions to slow the spread of the coronavirus were eased and businesses started reopening.

But the jobless rate rose 0.7 percent to a record 13.7 percent as more Canadians looked for work, said Statistics Canada.

The figure is more than double the unemployment rate prior to the COVID-19 economic shutdown.