Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli says Ontario continues to lead the country in job creation despite the latest labour force survey showing the province's unemployment rate climbed to seven per cent in June.
StatsCan said the 0.3-percentage-point increase in the unemployment rate was attributable to more Ontarians searching for work, with the number of jobs added in the province in June falling to keep pace with population growth.
While Ontario added a few thousand jobs in June (0.1 percentage point increase from May), the province's population increased by the tens of thousands (0.3 point hike). Over the past year, Ontario's labour force — those working and looking for work — increased by 2.8 per cent, while employment has only nudged up by 1.4 per cent.