Private-sector losses and industry cuts keep jobless rate steady at 6.9%
Canada’s youth workforce faced its weakest summer in more than a decade, with the unemployment rate for those aged 15 to 24 climbing to 14.6 percent in July — the highest since September 2010 outside pandemic years — as reported by Statistics Canada.
Employment in this group dropped by 34,000, or 1.2 percent, pushing the employment rate down to 53.6 percent, the lowest since November 1998 excluding pandemic years.
Overall, employment fell by 41,000, or 0.2 percent, in July, according to Statistics Canada, while the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.9 percent.
The decline was concentrated in full-time positions, which fell by 51,000, and private-sector jobs, which dropped by 39,000. Losses were led by information, culture and recreation (-29,000; -3.3 percent) and construction (-22,000; -1.3 percent).
Doug Porter, chief economist at BMO, said in a client note that this was “an unambiguously weak report” and marked the poorest performance in three years on the bank’s jobs report card.
He added that total hours worked slipped 0.2 percent in July, signalling “a poor start to the third quarter” for the economy.
Brendon Bernard, senior economist at Indeed, said the results reflected familiar patterns of “weak youth job numbers” and prolonged job search challenges.
He noted that 23.8 percent of the unemployed had been without work for 27 weeks or more, the highest share since February 1998 excluding pandemic years, and warned of a “traffic jam” in mid- and entry-level roles that are key stepping stones for younger workers.
RBC senior economist Claire Fan said the data aligns with expectations that “the bulk of tariff-related damage could already be done,” adding that the unemployment rate could peak near 7 percent.
CIBC senior economist Andrew Grantham described the figures as “weaker than expected” and said they support the case for a potential Bank of Canada rate cut in September.
Regionally, Statistics Canada reported that Alberta lost 17,000 jobs, pushing its unemployment rate to 7.8 percent, while British Columbia shed 16,000 jobs and saw unemployment rise to 5.9 percent.
Saskatchewan posted the only gain (+3,500; +0.6 percent) and recorded the lowest provincial unemployment rate at 5.0 percent.
