New Brunswick's economy bled 1,100 jobs in June, pushed unemployment rate up

New Brunswick's jobless rate inched up to 7.5 per cent in June after the economy shed 1,100 jobs, according to Statistics Canada.

The monthly labour force report was released Friday and showed 2,300 full-time jobs were lost last month. Meanwhile, roughly 1,300 New Brunswickers found themselves landing part-time jobs.

The June unemployment rate was higher than the rate in May, when it was 7.3 per cent, but still lower than the 8.4 per cent rate experienced last June.

Across Canada as a whole, 32,000 jobs were added in June, but with more people looking for work, the unemployment rate still went up two percentage points, to six per cent.

Across New Brunswick

Region by region in the province, the unemployment rate in most cases is about what it was a year ago.

The Fredericton and Oromocto region had the lowest unemployment rate in June, at 6.5 per cent, a slight dip from 6.8 per in June 2017.

In the Saint John and St. Stephen region, the rate in June was seven per cent, down from 7.3 per cent last year.

In the Moncton and Richibucto region, the unemployment rate was 7.2, up from 6.7 per cent last June. 

In the Edmundston and Woodstock region, the jobless rate fell to 6.9 per cent, compared with 8.5 per cent last year.

The Campbellton and Miramichi region had the highest unemployment rate in the province, at 11.1 per cent — but that's a drop from 13.9 per cent from last June.