Canada's economy added 35,800 jobs in August, slightly more than expected, but the pace of employment creation was slower than in the first half of the year, the government reported Friday. Analysts had expected a gain of 30,000 jobs last month after a surprising loss of 9,300 jobs in July, the first decline of the year. The national unemployment rate rose to 8.1 percent in August from 8.0 percent the previous month as more people entered the labor force, Statistics Canada (Statscan) said. "Monthly gains in employment averaged 13,000 in July and August, compared with an average monthly increase of 51,000 during the first six months of the year," Statscan said. Analysts said the data would not worry the Bank of Canada, which this week raised interest rates while acknowledging that the economic recovery was slowing more than it had expected.
