The unemployment rate last month in Saint John rose from 7.6 per cent in November to 8.1 per cent.
Mayor Don Darling says he understands how concerned Saint Johnners are about the state of the local economy and that’s why he wants the city to come up with a plan for growth sooner rather than later.
In Moncton, the unemployment rate also went up from 7.3 to 7.8 per cent.
There were 14 hundred fulltime jobs added in the province last month with 700 part time jobs cut. The unemployment rate provincially rose from 8.7 to 9.4 per cent in spite of a net gain of 600 jobs.
Employment rose by 54,000 across the country in December, the result of gains in fulltime work. Despite that, the unemployment rate increased to 6.9%, as more people were out and about looking for jobs.
In the 12 months to December, employment gains totalled 214 thousand or 1.2% compared with a growth rate of 0.9%.
In December, employment increased among women aged 25 to 54. There was little overall employment change among the other demographic groups.
