Economists had expected the economy to add between 10,000 and 15,000 jobs during the month, which would be a reversal after two straight monthly declines in June and July. By contrast, the August numbers bring the quarterly loss toll to more than 100,000 since May. The job losses were enough to push the unemployment rate up for the first time in seven months. In June, Canada’s unemployment rate fell to 4.9%, the lowest level on record. It was unchanged in July, but has now jumped half a percentage point from that all-time low. Tu Nguyen, an economist at consulting firm RSM Canada, noted that most of the job losses came from two sectors: construction and education. Education jobs typically decline during the summer, and he says the slowdown in construction was expected given how the Bank of Canada’s aggressive rate hikes have poured cold water on the housing market. Many new development projects have been canceled due to low buyer demand, which may explain the industry slowdown. “Most other industries either held steady or added jobs, which means overall the demand for labor is still there. If we do go into a recession, it will be industry specific and some areas will be hit much harder than others,” he said. . The average hourly wage during the month was $31.33. That’s up 5.4 percent from a year ago. For comparison, Canada’s inflation rate is currently 7.6 percent, meaning wage gains are still far from keeping pace with inflation.
