The Canadian economy shed a net 66,000 jobs in August, pushing the unemployment rate up to 7.1% as a result.
The latest jobs report comes after Statistics Canada said the labour market lost 41,000 jobs in July of this year. Previously, the unemployment rate was 6.9%.
The August jobs report was much worse than expected. Economists polled by Reuters (TRI) expected the Canadian economy to gain 10,000 jobs in August.
Statistics Canada said there were 60,000 part-time jobs lost during August, plus a loss of 6,000 full-time positions.
Employment fell across several industries, with the biggest coming from the professional, scientific and technical services industry at a loss of 26,000 jobs.
Transportation and warehousing lost 23,000 jobs during the month. Construction employment rose by 17,000 positions in August, partially offsetting the bigger decline.
Several provinces recorded employment declines with the largest occurring in Ontario (down 26,000 jobs) and British Columbia (down 16,000 jobs).
Average hourly wages among Canadian employees increased 3.2% to $36.31 on a year-over-year basis in August, following growth of 3.3% in July.
The latest jobs report comes ahead of the Bank of Canada’s next interest rate decision scheduled for Sept. 17.
