Canada's unemployment rate crept up to 6.5 per cent in August as 16,000 jobs were lost, Statistics Canada reports.

The August unemployment rate was up slightly from the 6.4 per cent seen in July.

Job losses in part-time positions exceeded gains in full-time employment, Statistics Canada said Friday.

August marked the third consecutive month that the economy lost jobs. In June, the country shed about 4,600 jobs, followed by roughly 5,500 in July. That followed a jump of more than 96,000 in May.

Last month, the country lost jobs in manufacturing, education, and public administration. Only the professional, scientific and technical services sector posted large job gains.

Alberta, which has seen booming economic growth as a result of expansion in the oil patch, added 8,000 new jobs. However, the provincial unemployment rate increased last month to 4.2 per cent from 3.6 per cent in July as people moved to Alberta to hunt for work.

Average hourly wages increased 3.7 per cent from August of last year, remaining above the rate of inflation, which most recently gained 2.4 per cent year over year. Hourly earnings in red-hot Alberta were up 8.3 per cent over the previous 12 months, owing to the demand for workers.

Despite the string of tepid job reports over the summer, economists don't think it will spur the Bank of Canada to action.

"Unless backed up by further weak economic releases, today’s report is unlikely to spur the Bank of Canada to cut interest rates," said Bank of Montreal economist Sal Guatieri.

"In our view, domestic demand remains sufficiently healthy to offset the ongoing weakness in net exports, thereby preventing a significant downturn in overall economic growth. Accordingly, we continue to expect the central bank to remain on hold for the foreseeable future," he said in a commentary.

TD Bank economist David Tulk said employment growth should return slowly over the coming quarters, averaging about 10,000 new jobs a month by the end of this year before picking up the pace in the second half of 2007. Tulk expects the unemployment rate to continue near its current level.