Canada adds 22,000 jobs in August, unemployment rises to 6.6%

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - Canada's employment increased by 22,000 in August, or 0.1% from the previous month, according to official figures released Friday by Statistics Canada.

The market expectation for the figure was an addition of 23,700 after the North American economy lost 2,800 jobs in July.

The unemployment rate, however, rose 0.2 percentage points to 6.6% in August, from 6.4% in July, and came higher than market expectations of 6.5%.

The employment rate, meanwhile, fell 0.1 percentage point to 60.8% in August, from 60.9% in July.