Yahoo Finance Canada's job market: Economy adds 94,000 jobs in July amid reopening
Canada's economy added 94,000 jobs in July as restrictions eased.
Statistics Canada says the unemployment rate fell 0.3 percentage point to 7.5 per cent.
The gain builds on the 231,000 jobs added in June, which were driven by part-time jobs. But July's gains were mostly full-time work (83,000) for the first increase since March 2021.
Gains were entirely in the private sector, with accommodation and food services leading the way with 35,000 positions.
After two strong months, Canada's job market is 1.3 per cent below February 2020's pre-pandemic level. That means 246,000 people remain unemployed.
"Gains are likely to slow from here, with many employers reporting labour shortages due to generous government support, concerns about contracting Covid in high-contact work settings, and childcare duties," said CIBC senior economist Royce Mendes.
Mendes says a lower labour participation rate potentially reflects the labour shortages some businesses are complaining about.
Total hours worked was up 1.3 per cent in July, some 2.7 per cent below the pre-pandemic level.
Youth aged 15 to 24 and core-aged women aged 25 to 54 accounted for the bulk of gains. All of the gains were in services-producing sectors.
Employment was up in Ontario, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
The share of Canadians working from home, who worked at least half their usual hours, fell two percentage points to 25.8 per cent in July, the lowest level since October 2020.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce says headline numbers look good on the surface but don't tell the whole story.
"Not surprisingly, the attention is largely focused on the jobs regained after a year of labour market decimation and stagnancy," it said.
"On the surface, it seems like a smooth transition as regions reach different stages of reopening. Just below the surface, however, the proverbial duck's feet are struggling to make headway amid swirling undercurrents."
The U.S. added 943,000 jobs in July and the unemployment rate fell to 5.4 per cent.
Jessy Bains is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow him on Twitter @jessysbains.
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