Canadian Labour Market Sees Surprise 75,000 Job Gain

Canada's labour market added a surprise 75,000 jobs in July, bringing the total increase since April to 181,000. This growth is stronger than anticipated by economists just months ago.

CIBC senior economist Andrew Grantham noted that this recovery is consistent with GDP figures, indicating the Canadian economy is recovering despite still having slack in the market.

RBC assistant chief economist Nathan Janzen stated that 'the labour market is not yet strong,' highlighting that the unemployment rate remains higher than normal at 5.2% and wage growth slowed to 2.8% year-over-year, down from 3.3% in June.

Most of July's job gains came from the wholesale and retail trade sectors, adding 21,000 positions, while finance, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing contributed 18,000 new jobs.