OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Canada’s economy created 94,000 jobs in July and the unemployment rate fell to 7.5 percent as Covid-19 restrictions were eased, Statistics Canada reported Friday.
This 0.3 percentage point drop followed a decline of 0.4 points in June, and increases in April and May.
The jobless rate peaked at 9.4 percent in January of this year, the agency said.
Long-term unemployment remained higher than in February 2020 before the pandemic and accounted for more than a quarter of total unemployment in July.
“The robust recovery in employment during the past two months more than makes up for the losses incurred during the third wave,” analyst Royce Mendes of the CIBC bank said.
“That said, employment is still 1.3 percent below the level in February 2020, and gains are likely to slow from here,” Mendes said.
He cited labor shortages due to generous government support and concerns about contracting Covid in high-contact work settings.
All of the employment gains in July occurred in the private sector, Statistics Canada said.
They happened in the service-producing sector, mainly restaurants and lodging.
July employment gains were concentrated in full-time work, the first increase since March 2021, while part time work remained flat.
© Agence France-Presse
