Canada Adds Nearly 420,000 Jobs in July to Continue Coronavirus Recovery

Canada saw employment rise by 418,500 in July as unemployment fell to 10.9 percent, continuing the recovery from the coronavirus crisis.

The latest Canada jobs Labour Force Survey showed unemployment fell by 1.4 percentage points for the second consecutive month, but remains well above the pre-pandemic rate of 5.6 percent.

The July employment rise added to rises of 290,000 and 953,000 jobs in May and June respectively, means employment is now within 1.3 million of the levels seen before COVID-19 struck.

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Employment gains in July majored in part-time work, the sector most affected by the pandemic, which saw a jobs increase of 345,000, or 11.3 percent, compared to an increase of 73,000, or 0.5 percent, in full-time work.

Women saw significantly more employment gains, adding 275,000 jobs for a rise of 3.4 percent, compared to men who added 144,000 jobs, an increase of 1.5 percent.

Given women suffered heavier losses overall due to the pandemic, men remain closer to pre-virus employment levels.

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What Are The Labour Force Survey Highlights?

Unemployment rate (%)	10.9
Employment rate (%)	57.3
Labour force participation rate (%)	64.3
Number unemployed	2,183,600
Number working	17,845,900
Youth (15-24) unemployment rate (%)	24.2
Men (over 25) unemployment rate (%)	8.9
Women (over 25) unemployment rate (%)	8.6

Source: Statistics Canada

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Provincial Canada Jobs Picture

Employment rose in nine out of the 10 Canadian provinces, spearheaded by Ontario which added 151,000 jobs in July.

Canada’s most populous province is now at 91.7 percent of its pre-pandemic employment after jobs rose by 378,000 in June.

Ontario has eased restrictions more slowly than other Canadian provinces, with further easing happening at the end of the Labour Force Survey reference period of July 12-18.

Quebec saw employment rise by 98,000 in July to 94.4 percent of pre-pandemic levels, with unemployment dropping to 9.5 percent in the French-speaking province. Increases were all in part-time work.

In Montreal, where restrictions have been eased more slowly, 28,000 jobs were added.

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Unemployment Rates In Canada’s Provinces

	Jobs change June-July	Unemployment rate (%)
British Columbia	70,200	11.1
Alberta	67,300	12.8
Saskatchewan	13,300	8.8
Manitoba	12,400	8.2
Ontario	150,700	11.3
Quebec	97,600	9.5
New Brunswick	-1,800	9.8
Nova Scotia	3,400	10.8
Prince Edward Island	1,100	11.7
Newfoundland & Labrador	4,300	15.6
CANADA	418,500	10.9

Source: Statistics Canada

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British Columbia, meanwhile, has now reached 93.5 percent of pre-pandemic employment levels after adding 70,000 jobs in July, an increase of 3 percent. B.C. saw unemployment fall by 1.9 percentage points to 11.1 percent.

Further July employment gains were seen in Alberta (67,000), Saskatchewan (13,000), Manitoba (12,000), Newfoundland & Labrador (4,300), Nov Scotia (3,400) and Prince Edward Island (1,100).

The only Canadian province to record a drop in employment was New Brunswick, which lost 1,800 jobs in July. However, employment in the Atlantic province is at 96.6 percent of pre-pandemic levels, the most complete employment recovery of all the provinces so far.