Canadian unemployment rate rose to 5.4% in June

Unemployment in Canada climbed in June and numbers from Statistics Canada show B.C. followed the trend.

Stats Can says the national jobless rate edged up three basis points to 5.4 per cent last month, while the number of people looking for work in this province climbed to 5.6 per cent from five per cent in May.

Analysts say 60,000 positions were added to the national economy in June, but the growing population and boost in jobseekers overshadowed the gain.

The Bank of Canada has blamed low unemployment for fuelling inflation and it could consider the consecutive monthly hikes in the jobless rate as a sign that recent aggressive interest rate increases are cooling the economy.