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.
