After a surprise drop in June, the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.9 % in Canada in July, even if employment decreased by 41,000.
In Quebec, employment remained stable, but the unemployment rate fell 6.3 % in June to 5.5 % in July due to a drop in the number of people looking for a job, says Statistics Canada.
After the unexpected creation of 83,000 jobs in June, the job market continues to thwart the predictions of economists, which anticipated a slight increase in the number of jobs.
The job losses in July are concentrated in the information and culture, construction and business services sector. Young people were the most affected, and their unemployment rate reached 14.6 % in July, its highest level since 2010.
Statistics Canada stresses that despite the tariff war and the uncertainty that results from it, the layoff rate remains unchanged from what it was a month earlier. Surprisingly, employment has increased in transport and storage, a sector targeted by customs duties. The increase in July in this sector is the first since January, specifies Statistics Canada.
In Quebec, the increase of 23,000 jobs in June was followed by a loss of 15,000 jobs in July. At 5.5 %, the unemployment rate in the province remains one of the lowest in the country. It increased by 0.1 % in Ontario, to 7.9 %.
Toronto displays the highest unemployment rate among the main Canadian cities, 9.2 %, compared to 6.3 % in Montreal and 6.1 % in Vancouver.
