Canada Loses 41,700 Jobs in August as Unemployment Holds at 6.4%
Updated
Updated · Insurance Journal · Sep 8
Canada Loses 41,700 Jobs in August as Unemployment Holds at 6.4%
2 articles · Updated · Insurance Journal · Sep 8
Summary
41,700 jobs disappeared in August, the first monthly decline since April, badly missing economists’ forecast for a 15,000 gain.
6.4% unemployment held steady as losses hit finance, retail, wholesale, hospitality and the public sector, where payrolls fell 20,000 and are down 78,000 since May.
22,100 manufacturing jobs were added—mostly in Ontario—but job cuts were still concentrated in Ontario and Quebec, while annual wage growth for full-time permanent workers slowed to 2% from 3%.
3.076% two-year bond yields fell and the Canadian dollar dropped after the report, reinforcing views that the Bank of Canada will stay on hold despite this week’s hawkish inflation remarks.
50% US tariffs on $20 billion of Canadian goods and looming Canadian counter-duties are clouding a rebound that had lifted employment by 217,000 from a year earlier.