Canadian unemployment rate rises as 30,400 jobs lost in disappointing July

OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says the country’s unemployment rate rose one-tenth of a point to 7.3 per cent last month as the economy shed 30,400 jobs.

Analysts had expected the economy to create about 6,000 jobs in July, consistent with modest economic growth.

But the month produced the biggest employment decline since last October instead, with almost all the losses coming in Quebec and all in the part-time category.

The good news in the report was that July managed to produce 21,300 full-time jobs, more than offset by the loss of 51,600 part-time workers.

While a surprise, the report is not a total shock given the economic indicators have tended to point downwards the past several months.

Economist Doug Porter of BMO Capital Markets says the overall trend in Canada is for continued weak employment growth.