The jobless rate went up for a second month in a row in June.
Statistics Canada reports the rate climbed to 5.4 per cent as the economy added 60-thousand jobs.
R-B-C assistant chief economist Nathan Janzen says the reason the unemployment rate can rise alongside historically strong employment growth is that population growth continues to set new records, including an increase of 84-thousand people in June.
But forecasters are still expecting the Bank of Canada will raise interest rates at its next decision on Wednesday.