Canada adds 75,000 jobs in July as unemployment falls to two-year low of 6.4 percent

Canada's job market gained 75,000 positions in July, pushing the unemployment rate to 6.4 percent—the lowest level in two years, according to Statistics Canada's Labour Force Survey released Thursday.

The employment rate rose to 60.9 percent, up 0.1 percentage points from June. The unemployment decline marked the third consecutive monthly decrease since April, when the rate stood at 6.9 percent.

Gains were split across sectors. Wholesale and retail trade added 21,000 jobs; finance, insurance, real estate and leasing added 18,000; professional and scientific services added 17,000; and construction added 16,000. Public administration declined by 15,000 and agriculture fell 9,600.

Core-aged women—those 25 to 54 years old—saw the strongest growth. Employment in this group rose by 33,000, and the unemployment rate fell 0.3 percentage points to 5.2 percent. The employment rate for core-aged women reached 81.2 percent, exceeding the pre-pandemic average of 79.1 percent recorded from 2017 to 2019. For core-aged men, employment edged up 18,000 and unemployment held steady at 5.8 percent.

Average hourly wages among employees grew 2.8 percent year-over-year to $37.17 in July, following 3.3 percent growth in June. Ontario led provincial employment gains with 52,000 new jobs, followed by British Columbia with 18,000.

The job-finding rate—the proportion of unemployed people who found work between June and July—was 20.8 percent, up from 18.5 percent a year earlier but still below the pre-COVID-19 average of 26.6 percent for the same period from 2017 to 2019.