Economy lost 68,000 jobs in May, unemployment rate rose slightly to 8.2%

Canada’s labour market shed 68,000 jobs last month as tighter public health restrictions continued or were introduced in many regions of the country to slow the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey data released Friday shows the employment rate was 8.2 per cent, up from 8.1 per cent in April.

Most of the jobs lost, 54,000, were part-time, following a drop of 78,000 in April.

Ontario and Nova Scotia were the only provinces to register employment