After several months of modest gains, there were 30,000 fewer jobs in July, reports Statistics Canada.
However, the news isn’t all bad. Despite the national job loss, there was still some growth—particularly within fulltime employment.
“Yes, the unemployment rate is up a tenth of a point to 7.3% in July, but fulltime employment has actually grown by an average of 30,000 jobs a month since February,” says Jan Hein Bax, president of Randstad Canada.
He adds, “July added 21,300 net, new full-time jobs, offsetting the loss of 51,600 part-time jobs; average wages rose 3.6% from a year ago; total hours worked increased by 1.2%.”
Further, there were some particularly bright spots in Ontario’s job market, which added 10,600 new jobs in July.
“While we saw an increase in both contract and perm roles in Ontario, the demand for permanent roles saw a significant 24% increase,” he says.
The industries hit hardest in July were wholesale and retail trade, professional, scientific and technical services, and public administration. That was offset by gains in finance, insurance, real estate and leasing, and culture and recreation.