Canada Employment
Research Brief

Second consecutive month of labour contraction. Once again, Canadian employment shrank by 31,000 jobs in July, following the 43,000 lost in June. However, Canada’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.9 per cent. Retirements are partially contributing to this loss, but unlike June, the jobs that disappeared in July were not due to seasonal effects, potentially signaling that the economy is losing momentum. Even though there are signs that the economy is beginning to slow, stable wage growth remains, with average hourly earnings increasing 0.4 per cent month-over-month. As such, many economists believe it is still too soon to expect the Bank of Canada to pivot in its fight against inflation.