Canadian Payroll Employment Rises in July

On Thursday, Statistics Canada (StatCan) reported that payroll employment rose 0.1% in July, a gain of 26,100 jobs. The increase built on three consecutive gains from March through June totaling 0.7%, or 124,200 jobs. Year-over-year, payroll employment was up 0.9%, or 171,900.

Payroll employment increased in 8 of 20 sectors. Retail trade rose 0.2%, or 3,900 jobs; accommodation and food services rose 0.3%, or 3,600 jobs; professional, scientific and technical services increased 0.2%, or 2,500 jobs; and real estate and rental and leasing rose 0.8%, or 2,300 jobs.

Those gains were partially offset by declines in public administration, down 0.4%, or 5,700 jobs, and wholesale trade, down 0.5%, or 4,100 jobs.

Job vacancies were little changed at 501,000 in July, marking a seventh consecutive month of little variation. Year-over-year, vacancies were also little changed. There were 2.9 unemployed persons for every vacancy in July, unchanged from June.

Year-over-year, the unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio declined by 0.3, primarily reflecting a 6.7%, or 105,200-person, decrease in the number of unemployed people, according to the Labor Force Survey. Over the same period, the unemployment rate fell from 6.9% to 6.4%.