Canada’s unemployment rate fell to 7.5 per cent in July
Posted August 6, 2021 5:40 am.
Last Updated August 6, 2021 9:43 am.
OTTAWA – The unemployment rate dropped 0.3 percentage points to 7.5 per cent in July as the country added another 94,000 jobs, according to Statistics Canada.
That added to an increase of 231,000 in June, when the jobless rate was 7.8 per cent.
The agency says the gains were concentrated in the service sector, with 35,000 jobs added in accommodation and food services.
July employment gains were largely in full-time work, which rose by 83,000 or half a percentage point and occurred in multiple sectors.
The unemployment rate fell to its lowest since March of this year, at 7.5 per cent for July compared with 7.8 per cent in June.
#Breaking Canada regains 94,000 jobs in July (estimate 150,000)
-Full-time jobs up 83,000
-Part-time jobs up 11,000
Unemployment rate at 7.5% (down 0.3%)— Mike Eppel (@eppman) August 6, 2021
Despite the addition of new jobs, we’re still not at the February 2020 level, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Employment is down 246,400 jobs or 1.3 per cent from pre-pandemic levels in February of last year.
The number of people considered long-term unemployed was 244,000 higher than before the pandemic and accounted for 27.8 per cent of total unemployment.
Economists had expected the July numbers to show an increase in overall employment for the month, but warned some challenges may lie beneath the headline numbers.
