Canada shed 6,400 jobs in July

In July, the Canadian job market demonstrated a relatively stable outlook, experiencing a modest reduction of approximately 6,400 jobs nationwide, mainly within the realm of part-time employment. This outcome deviated from analysts’ expectations, who had anticipated an addition of around 25,000 jobs to the economy.

The unemployment rate underwent a slight increase for the third consecutive month, reaching 5.5%. Sectors that encountered the most notable losses in July encompassed construction and transportation. Conversely, the health care and educational domains displayed significant growth, with the addition of 25,000 and 19,000 jobs, respectively. The ongoing tightness of the job market in Canada resulted in a 5.0% year-over-year increase in average hourly wages, thereby contributing to improved compensation for workers.

Within specific demographics, a 0.4% reduction in employment was observed among men aged 25 to 54. This contrasted with a 0.9% rise in employment among younger men aged 15 to 24. The employment levels for women in these age groups remained relatively stable.

Of note, Alberta exhibited the most robust growth among all the provinces, introducing approximately 12,000 new jobs.

In a separate development, telecommunications behemoth Telus revealed its plans to cut 6,000 jobs on Friday.