Canadian Employment and Unemployment Remained Little Changed in July

On Friday, Statistics Canada (StatCan) reported that overall employment was little changed in July. The employment rated declined 0.2 percentage points to 60.9%.

The number of private sector employees fell by 42,000—or 0.3%—in July, following two months of little change. On a year-over-year basis, private sector employment growth was up by 86,000 positions, or 0.6%.

Public sector employment rose by 41,000—or 0.9%—in July and was up by 205,000—or 4.8%—compared with 12 months earlier. Public sector employment gains over the last year have been led by increases in health care and social assistance, up 87,000, or 6.9%; public administration, up 57,000, or 4.8%; and educational services, up 33,000, or 3.3% (not seasonally adjusted).

Self-employment was little changed in July and was up by 55,000, or 2.1%, year-over-year.

The unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.4% in July, following two consecutive monthly increases (up 0.1% in May and up 0.2% in June). Year-over-year, the unemployment rate was up by 0.9%.