Ottawa, Jul 10 (IANS): Canada's unemployment rate fell 0.4 percentage points to 7.8 per cent in June, according to authorities.

Statistics Canada on Friday attributed the fall to employment growth in June, which was entirely in part-time work and concentrated among youth aged 15 to 24, primarily young women, reports Xinhua news agency.

Increases were greatest in accommodation and food services and retail trade, consistent with the lifting or easing of public health restrictions affecting these industries in late May and early June in many jurisdictions.

Employment increased by 231,000 jobs, up 1.2 per cent in June, following a cumulative decline of 275,000 over the previous two months.

However, the unemployment rate was above the post-pandemic low of 7.5 per cent recorded in March 2021, but was considerably lower than the recent peak of 9.4 per cent in January 2021 and the record high of 13.7 per cent in May 2020.

Long-term unemployment, the number of people unemployed for 27 weeks or more, was little changed in June and was 298,000 higher than in February 2020.

The number of employed people working less than half their usual hours fell 276,000, down 19.3 per cent.

The number of self-employed workers fell 63,000, down 7.2 per cent compared with February 2020.

The number of Canadians working from home fell by nearly 400,000 to 4.7 million.