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Unemployment rate goes up

The number of people in the Oshawa area out of work has gone up.

According to new numbers from Statistics Canada, the Oshawa census metropolitan area – which also includes Whitby and Clarington – saw its unemployment rate rise to 6.9 per cent last month, up from 6.4 per cent the month before. The numbers equate to approximately 15,900 people out of work in August, up from 14,600 in July.

However, this is a decrease over the same time last year, when the Oshawa area saw an unemployment rate of 8.0 per cent, or approximately 16,200 people.

Across the country, the unemployment rate edged up 0.1 per cent between July and August. However, the number of people gaining employment went up by 26,000 people, or 0.1 per cent in that time, causing the unemployment rate to go up as more people were in the labour market. In August, employment rose in Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador, but fell in New Brunswick.

According to Statistics Canada, the unemployment rate last month is 0.4 per cent higher than it was in August 2015.

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