Canadian Employment Increases for Second Consecutive Month in July; Unemployment Modestly Declines

Statistics Canada (StatsCan) today (8-6-21) released the July Labor Force Survey (LFS), which reflects labor market conditions during the week of July 11 to July 17, 2021. Between the June and July reference weeks, many jurisdictions substantially eased public health restrictions affecting indoor and outdoor dining, recreation and cultural activities, retail shopping, and personal care services. According to the LFS, employment in Canada rose by 94,000 (+0.5%) in July, adding to an increase of 231,000 (1.2%) in June. The two consecutive months of growth brought employment to 246,000, which is -1.3% below the February 2020 level. All of the employment gains in July occurred in the private sector, where the number of employees rose by 123,000 or +1.0%. The unemployment rate fell 0.3 percentage points to 7.5% in July, which is below the recent peak of 9.4% in January 2021. Long-term unemployment was 244,000, which is higher than in February 2020 and accounted for more than 27.8% of total employment in July.