New Brunswick’s unemployment rate surged to 11 per cent in September as 1,900 jobs were lost, according to Statistics Canada.

The province’s jobless rate has been increasing steadily in the last three months.

The unemployment rate grew to 11 per cent in September up from 10.4 per cent in August and 10 per cent in July, according to the monthly labour force survey.

New Brunswick shed 1,900 jobs last month.

The part-time sector bore the brunt of the job losses in September. Statistics Canada reported 3,300 part-time jobs were lost, while 1,300 full-time jobs were added.

The province’s labour force rate grew marginally to 393,400 people. New Brunswick’s employment rate stood at 56.4 per cent.

Saint John’s unemployment stood at 9.1 per cent, which puts it at the highest rate of any census metropolitan area in Canada. The Ontario cities of Oshawa and Windsor had jobless rates of nine per cent.

Moncton’s unemployment rate was 7.2 per cent in September, an increase from seven per cent in the previous month, according to the national statistics agency.

Regional unemployment rates

The unemployment rate also rose in four of the province’s five economic zones.

Only Campbellton-Miramichi, which has the highest regional unemployment rate, saw the unemployment rate dip. Its rate fell to 14.6 per cent in September from 14.7 per cent in August.

The unemployment rate in the Saint John-St. Stephen area rose above 10 per cent in September. The jobless figure stood at 10.1 per cent, an increase from 9.8 per cent last month, according to Statistics Canada.

In western New Brunswick, the unemployment rate in the Edmundston-Woodstock area climbed to 10.6 per cent from 10 per cent.

There were only two regions that had unemployment rates below 10 per cent.

Moncton-Richibucto’s unemployment rose to 8.3 per cent from 7.7 per cent and Fredericton-Oromocto jumped to 7.7 per cent from 6.4 per cent.