Greater Sudbury's jobless rate inched upward last month, as the city shed 1,400 jobs, Statistics Canada reported Friday.
The size of the city's labour force also increased by 100, to 88,100, leaving an unemployment rate of 7.3 per cent, 0.3 per cent higher than August. That compares to a rate of six per cent at the same time in 2014. Around 82,800 people were employed then, compared to 81,700 last month.
Since January, when it was 5.9 per cent, Greater Sudbury's unemployment rate has increased by 1.4 per cent.
Nationally, employment was little changed for the fourth consecutive month. The unemployment rate increased by 0.1 percentage points to 7.1 per cent as more people participated in the labour market.
“Part-time employment rose by 74,000 in September, which was largely offset by a decline of 62,000 in full time,” StatsCan said in a release.
Following gains of 63,000 (+0.4 per cent) in the first quarter, and 33,000 (+0.2 per cent) in the second quarter, employment grew by 31,000 (+0.2 per cent) in the third quarter of 2015.
In the 12 months to September, employment increased by 161,000 (+0.9 per cent), with all of the gains in full-time work. Over the same period, the total number of hours worked rose by 1.1 per cent.
In Ontario, employment fell by 34,000 in September, as full-time employment declines were partly offset by increases in part-time work. The unemployment rate was little changed at 6.9 per cent as fewer people participated in the labour market. Compared with 12 months earlier, employment in the province was little changed.
Provincially, employment rose in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan and Prince Edward Island, while it fell in Newfoundland and Labrador.
In September, there were more people employed in information, culture and recreation;health care and social assistance; as well as business, building and other support services. At the same time, employment declined in educational services.
The number of self-employed workers increased, while public sector employment declined. There was little change in the number of private sector employees.
Adjusted to the concepts used in the United States, the unemployment rate in Canada was six per cent in September compared with 5.1 per cent in the United States.
