The Financial Post reports in its Saturday, Sept. 6, edition that Canada's unemployment rate rose to 7.1 per cent in August, the highest in over nine years outside the pandemic, increasing speculation of an interest rate cut by the Bank of Canada. The Post's Jordan Gowling writes that the economy lost 66,000 jobs, primarily in part-time work, with major declines in professional services and trade-sensitive sectors like transportation and manufacturing, according to Statistics Canada. CIBC economist Andrew Grantham noted that weakness in the labour market has spread beyond tariff-sensitive sectors, indicating that rate cuts could boost demand and hiring. He said, "The weaker-than-expected employment report saw financial markets pricing in a greater probability of a September interest rate cut, resulting in a decline in bond yields." The BOC's next interest rate decision is on Sept. 17. It has maintained a 2.75-per-cent policy rate at its last three meetings due to trade uncertainty and underlying inflation. Friday's jobs report follows last week's Canada GDP report, which indicated a contraction of 1.6 per cent in the second quarter. A flash estimate for July shows GDP growth of 0.1 per cent.