Canada Jobs Report Surprises with Strong Gains in July
Canada's job market is showing signs of improvement, according to the latest report from Statistics Canada. The country added 75,100 jobs in July, beating forecasts and pushing the unemployment rate down to a two-year low of 5.1%. This marks the strongest three-month employment increase since before President Donald Trump introduced import duties on Canadian products.
Full-time positions drove the job gains, with hours worked rising 0.6% in private-sector and self-employed workers. The July report suggests that the economy's momentum continues into the third quarter, with annualized growth of 3.4% from April to June.
Wholesale and retail trade led the job gains, while other sectors such as banking and insurance, property and rental services, professional work, and construction also saw increases. However, government administration posted the biggest decline in employment.
Economists are cautiously optimistic about the report, with Tu Nguyen from RSM Canada saying that 'the economy is turning a corner' and Charles St-Arnaud from Servus Credit Union warning of potential risks due to US trade policy uncertainty.