July proved something of a dire month for the Canadian economy, certainly on the job-creation front, according to figures released Friday morning by Statistics Canada.
The agency reported the unemployment rate ticked up one-10th of a percentage point to 6.9% in July as the economy lost 31,000 jobs.
Economists had expected Canada's economy would create about 10,000 jobs.
StatsCan goes on to say full-time employment fell by 71,000 from June to July, while part-time work was up by 40,000.
Compared with July 2015, total employment increased by 71,000 or 0.4%, with all of the growth in part-time work. Over the same 12-month period, the total number of hours worked rose by 0.4%.
In July, employment decreased among youths aged 15 to 24, while it was little changed for the other demographic groups.
Employment declined in Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador, and increased in British Columbia and New Brunswick.
