The jobless rate in the Kootenays ticked upward last month, registering at 5.7 per cent.
That’s compared to 5.5 per cent the previous month and 3.3 per cent in June 2022.
Statistics Canada says 82,300 people were working and 5,000 were looking for work out of a population of 142,200. In May, 300 more people had jobs and 200 fewer were seeking work out of a population of 142,000.
At the same time last year, 84,600 people had jobs and 2,900 were trying to find them, while the population stood at 140,700.
Nationally, the unemployment rate stood at 5.4 per cent, up from 5.2 per cent in June. That was despite an increase in jobs by 60,000, driven by gains in full-time work.
StatsCan says the biggest increases were seen in men ages 15 to 54, while employment among women didn’t change much.
Employment rose in wholesale and retail trade, manufacturing, health care and social assistance and transportation and warehousing but declined in construction, educational services, and agriculture.
Average hourly wages rose 4.2 per cent to $33.12 year-over-year following an increase of 5.1 per cent in May.