Statistics Canada released the July Labour Force Survey numbers this morning. Overall employment grew in July as the Canadian economy added 7,100 new jobs, causing the unemployment rate to fall to 7.2 percent. Canada saw gains in full-time work and losses in part-time positions as there were 25,500 more full-time workers and 18,400 fewer people working part-time last month.

Year-over-year, the Canadian economy has grown by 252,000 since last July. While some 351,000 new full-time jobs were created, this was offset by a loss in nearly 100,000 part-time jobs.

Top industries experiencing growth in employment

    • Construction (+31,000)
    • Transportation and warehousing (+28,000)
    • Retail (+28,000)
    • Manufacturing (22,000)

 

Key sectors showing losses

  • Health care and social assistance (-39,000)
  • Educational services (-30,000)
  • Business, building and other support services (-14,000)
  • Natural resources (-11,000)
  • Architecture (-9,000)

 

Student & youth employment

In July, employment among students 15-24 was almost the same as last year with an unemployment rate of 17.4%.  The unemployment rate for students aged 17-19 increased slightly to 17.6% and fell for older students aged 20-24 to 7.1%.

Regionally

Alberta saw the greatest gains with 12,000 new jobs created, while Newfoundland and Labrador also experienced growth, adding 3,800 jobs.  Ontario, on the other hand, saw losses of 22,000 jobs. The unemployment rate in Quebec remained unchanged with an unemployment rate of 7.2%.