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4w ago

Canada Sheds 66,000 Jobs in August as Unemployment Hits 7.1%

The weak report sharpened expectations for a Sept. 17 Bank of Canada rate cut pending the Sept. 16 inflation reading.

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A community-wide job fair was held at the Sudbury Community Arena in Sudbury, Ont. on Wednesday May 7, 2025. The fair was a partnership between seven local employment service providers. A total of 86 employers were on hand.
Alberta's unemployment rate in August was 8.4 per cent, with the biggest declines in employment in manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, according to the latest numbers from Statistics Canada.

Overview

  • The jobless rate is the highest outside the pandemic since 2016 after a second straight monthly employment decline.
  • Part-time work accounted for most of the drop (60,000 versus 6,000 full-time), while average hourly wages rose 3.2% year over year.
  • Losses were concentrated in professional, scientific and technical services (−26,000), transportation and warehousing (−23,000) and manufacturing (−19,000), as construction added 17,000.
  • Regional strain deepened, with Alberta at 8.4%—second-highest among provinces—and city jobless rates such as Windsor 11.1%, Toronto 8.9% and Edmonton 8.5%.
  • The labour force shrank by about 31,000, and economists link the weakness to U.S. trade frictions as markets increasingly price a Sept. 17 rate cut contingent on the Sept. 16 CPI.