Canadian employment edged up by 27,000, or 0.1 per cent, to 20.518 million in May. The unemployment rate ticked up to 6.2 per cent. Average hourly wages rose 5.1 per cent year-over-year to $34.94 last month, while total hours worked were up 1.6 per cent from May of last year.

Employment in BC fell 0.3 per cent to 2.863 million, while employment in Metro Vancouver fell 1.1 per cent to 1.610 million in April. The unemployment rate rose 0.6 points in BC to 5.6 per cent while rising in Metro Vancouver by 0.8 points to 6.1 per cent last month.

Copyright British Columbia Real Estate Association. Reprinted with permission.