Canada’s labor market just put together its strongest month in a while. The economy added 75,100 jobs in July, according to Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey released on August 7, and the unemployment rate fell to 6.5%, its lowest level in two years.
To put that number in perspective, June managed a mere 18,000 new positions. July’s result is more than four times that.
The numbers behind the rebound
May saw a gain of 88,000 jobs, which represented a 0.4% increase in total employment. That strong showing pulled the unemployment rate down by 0.3 percentage points, from 6.9% territory to 6.6%.
Then came June’s relative quiet. Only 18,000 jobs were added, a gain of just 0.1%. The unemployment rate ticked down slightly to 6.5%.
