Canada's Labour Market Stalls in August with 42,000 Job Losses

Statistics Canada released its latest labour market figures on Friday, showing that the economy shed 42,000 jobs in August. This loss falls short of economists' expectations for a gain of 15,000 positions.

The unemployment rate remained steady at 6.4 per cent last month. The public sector was the main contributor to job losses, with 20,000 positions cut in its third consecutive month of declines.

However, some sectors bucked this trend. Manufacturing proved to be a surprise pocket of strength, adding 22,000 jobs in August. This gain may have been influenced by the industry's resilience in the face of US tariffs, which were applied mid-month and affected about $28 billion worth of Canadian goods.

The layoff rate, the proportion of people who were unemployed as a result of a layoff between July and August, was 0.8 per cent in August. This is marginally higher than other sectors for industries reliant on export demand from the US over the past 12 months.