Statistics Canada says Canada's economy created a surprisingly strong 27,100 jobs in August, one of the biggest gains since the recession began last fall.

But the unemployment rate edged up 8.7 per cent from 8.6 per cent in July as more Canadians began looking for work.

The picture wasn't all rosy, however, as all of the jobs were in the part-time category and students continued to struggle to find summer jobs.

The agency says the new jobs were in the private sector, and concentrated among adult women in the finance sector, retail and wholesale trade and real estate.

Regionally, only Saskatchewan experienced significant job losses in August, losing 3,200 workers.