OTTAWA – The Canadian economy lost 43,000 jobs in June, marking the first decline in employment since January.

At the same time, the unemployment rate fell to another record low of 4.9 per cent in June, according to Statistics Canada’s monthly labour force survey.

The agency says the decline in unemployment is attributed to fewer people looking for work, while the loss in jobs was driven by a decline in self-employment by 59,000 jobs.

Full-time and part-time employment were relatively unchanged since May.

Wages also increased at a faster rate, with average hourly wages rising 5.2 per cent to $31.24 year over year.

The unemployment rate in May was 5.1 per cent, the lowest rate since at least 1976, when Statistics Canada started tracking data.

(The Canadian Press)