OTTAWA, June 10 (Xinhua) -- The unemployment rate in Canada edged down 0.1 percentage point to 5.1 percent in May, marking three consecutive months of decrease while this key labor market indicator has reached a new record low, Statistics Canada said on Friday.

       The tightening labor market in recent months has contributed to year-over-year declines in unemployment rates across the core-aged population, the national statistical agency said.

       The adjusted unemployment rate, which includes those who wanted a job but did not look for one, fell 0.2 percentage point to 7.0 percent in May, the lowest rate on record since comparable data became available in 1976.

       According to a related survey, the ratio of unemployed people to job vacancies reached an all-time low of 1.2 in March, highlighting labor supply pressures facing employers seeking to attract and retain employees.

       Meanwhile, employment rose by 40,000, or 0.2 percent, driven by gains in full-time work among young and core-aged women, the agency said.

       Total hours worked were little changed in May, but were up 5.1 percent compared with 12 months earlier and average hourly wages increased 3.9 percent to 31.12 Canadian dollars (24.9 U.S. dollars) on a year-over-year basis, according to Statistics Canada.