Canada’s unemployment rate held steady at a historic low of 4.9% in July.
According to Statistics Canada, the economy lost 30,600 jobs in July, the second consecutive
month of employment losses.
The latest data was weaker than had been expected. Economists forecast 15,000 job gains for
July and anticipated an unemployment rate of 5%.
A total of 53,000 jobs were lost in the retail, healthcare, and education sectors. Those losses
were partially offset by 23,000 job gains in the goods-producing sector, Statistics Canada said.
The job declines were roughly the same in both part-time and full-time work. The participation
rate fell 0.2% to 64.7% in July, compared to a 0.4 percentage point drop in June.
Average hourly wages rose 5.2% on an annualized basis in July.
