Windsor's unemployment rate rose to 9.1% in June, the highest in Canada

June's unemployment rate in Windsor is the highest in Canada, according to Statistics Canada.

In its monthly labour force survey report, the agency said Windsor's unemployment rate came in at 9.1 per cent for June, up from 8.5 per cent in May.

Calgary's unemployment is second highest in the country at 8.5 per cent.

On a national level, the Canadian economy lost 1,400 jobs in June, pushing the unemployment rate to its highest level in more than two years. The overall unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage points to 6.4 per cent.

Youth unemployment at 13.5% 

While unemployment is up across all major demographic groups, the overall unemployment rate for youth (aged 15 to 24) rose 0.9 percentage points to 13.5 per cent in June, the biggest increase.

This was the highest rate since September 2014, outside of 2020 and 2021 during the pandemic, the agency says.

On a year-over-year basis, the youth unemployment rate was up 2.1 percentage points in June 2024.

Meanwhile, employment was virtually unchanged (-1,400 or 0.0 per cent) in June, following little change in May (+27,000 or 0.1 per cent).

The employment rate — the proportion of the population aged 15 and older who are employed — declined by 0.2 percentage points to 61.1 per cent in June, the eighth decrease in the past nine months. 

Statistics Canada says the employment rate has declined by 1.3 percentage points from the recent high of 62.4 per cent observed in January and February of 2023.

On a year-over-year basis, employment was up by 1.7 per cent (+343,000) in June.