City's unemployment rate 9.6 per cent in August

The city's unemployment rate stood at 9.6 per cent in August, according to Statistics Canada labour market survey numbers.

The number represents a slight decline from 9.8 per cent recorded for July but is still nearly double the 4.9 per cent estimated for August 2019 as the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic continued.

In all, an estimated 46,200 people were holding down jobs last month while 4,900 were looking for work and 22,400 of working age were not participating.

By comparison, 50,800 were working during the same month last year, while 2,600 were seeking employment and 19,600 were not.

In July, 43,900 were working, 4,800 were looking for jobs and 24,7000 were not participating.

The counts are based on three-month rolling averages and the accuracy of the estimates for the unemployment rates for August and July were plus-or-minus 1.4 per cent, while that for August 2019 was plus or minus 0.8 per cent, all 68 per cent of the time.