Canada Employment Research Brief

Labour market remained sluggish. Canada’s economy added 22,000 jobs in August, ending the consecutive job losses seen in the previous two months. Employment rose the most in educational services, followed by health care and social assistance as well as wholesale and retail trade. Despite the job gain, underlying details continue to reveal softening labour market conditions. The gap between the pace of job creation and labour force growth widened, causing the unemployment rate to increase to 6.6 per cent. Furthermore, the employment gain in August was primarily driven by the addition of approximately 66,000 part-time positions, which itself was partially offset by a decrease of 44,000 full-time jobs. This points to a lack of quality employment opportunities and hesitancy in firms’ hiring processes, as employers avoid long-term commitments. On a three-month average basis, the monthly gain in total employment declined to 6,000, marking the lowest level in two years.