Fri Aug. 07 2009 10:55:20 AM
July jobless rate stays at 8.6 per cent as 45,000 jobs shed
The Canadian Press
A man looks through the database at the Resource Canada offices in Montreal in this file photo. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz)
OTTAWA — Canada's labour market shed another 45,000 jobs in July as more people struggled to find work, Statistics Canada reported Friday.
The unemployment rate stayed at 8.6 per cent during the month.
Full-time employment and private sector jobs -- the two most reliable indicators of labour market strength -- both continued their downward trajectory.
The agency reported there were 29,100 fewer full-time workers in July.
The private sector also to shed jobs, dropping another 75,000.
"The downward trend among private sector employees persisted in July, with large losses for this group partially offset by continued gains in self-employment," the agency said in a statement.
Self-employment has risen by 75,000, mostly in finance, insurance, real estate and leasing, and professional, scientific and technical services.
Quebec suffered the brunt of the job losses during the month with a 38,100 loss in full-time jobs offset by a small gain in part-time work. Quebec's unemployment rate rose to 9 per cent during the month -- the highest level since January 2004.
Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador also lost jobs, while the other provinces remained largely unchanged from the previous month.
There was good news for struggling Ontario, however, which picked up 50,700 full-time jobs, mostly in the services sector, which offset losses in construction.
The summer job market continued to cool in July as the student jobless rate rose to 20.9 per cent -- a 7.1 percentage point jump from July 2008 and the highest student unemployment rate for the month on record.
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Comments are now closed for this story
August 07, 2009 at 12:51:01 PM
Dennis
Once again these statements of unomployed rates are misleading.A single mother who has to sell her soul to feed her children is not self employed.A father who goes to jail for stealing food for his kids should not be taken off the unemployed list.The economist were not mistaken on their forcast,thay did this to try to paint a pretty picture.Well the picture is not pretty,and if they can't make responsible statments,then maybe they need a new career.I hear that there is some openings coming up in the garbage collections sector.Don't you know,they apparently all have degrees to help them manipulate those garbage bags and cans.
August 07, 2009 at 1:11:20 PM
smahn
This article can't be right, the bank of Canada stated that we're out of the recession.
August 07, 2009 at 2:12:19 PM
Mark
Keep in mind thousands of employees in ontario were jobless last month due to the garbage strike- i.e 5 000 centerville employees.
August 07, 2009 at 2:57:52 PM
Adam, Toronto
you can't compare the what economy (economics) is doing compared the job market. They are very different from each other, although related employment isn't the sole factor that dertimines how well our economy is doing. It will take years for us to recover from this and in that time we will continue to see people loose their jobs, companies go brankrupt, etc. but ultimately our economy isn't in a recession, tentatively speaking.
Whats most disturbing about this article is the misleading nature of it and the false hope it gives people. These numbers are so skewed, lets be truthful for once and let the people know just how bad it really is. For once I'd like to see our Government show some credibility.
August 07, 2009 at 4:05:16 PM
OutSourcedGuy
I believe the number of job’s reported is correct, if not understated. However, what I would like reported to the Canadian people is the co-relation of the number of job's lost to the number of outsourced job's to India and China. Daily, be it within the financial community, or be it within the manufacturing community, Canadian jobs are being transferred offshore and this trend is continuing but Canada releases not statistics on this!
To assume that jobs “lossed” will somehow return with an improved economy is simply foolish, and further to assume that the job loss is solely related to the economy is again foolish as companies clearly are using the state of the economy as an excuse to downsize employeed Canadian citizens.
People have to push gov’t to impose a heavier tier tax against those companies that opt to employee non-Canadian Citizens verses those companies that employee Canadians.
This is perhaps one way that jobs ‘Lossed’ will again be available to Canadians.
August 07, 2009 at 9:41:16 PM
Dan
I just broke my piggy bank open. I was saving it for a rainy day in the future but it won't stop pouring today!