Canada added 75,000 net new jobs in July, according to Statistics Canada, as the national unemployment rate ticked down to 6.4 per cent — the lowest since July 2024.
The labour force survey for the month was released by the agency Friday morning, and the unemployment rate was down 0.1 per cent from June, when 18,000 jobs were added.
The July report marks the third straight month where the unemployment rate fell, and the 6.4 per cent reading was also half a per cent lower than the same month a year earlier.
“What matters isn’t the single month of data; it’s the consecutive strength. Since April, jobs in Canada have increased by 181,000 and the unemployment rate fell by half a percentage point, declining for three consecutive months,” said Laura Ulrich, director of economic research at Indeed, in a statement.
“One month of positive data can be noise, but three months in a row starts to look more like a trend.”
-
![]()
Calgary leads North America in tech job growth percentage for the third consecutive year -
![]()
Surprise jump in Canadian jobs in July beats economists’ expectations -
![]()
Business Matters: Canada adds 75,000 jobs in July, unemployment rate declines -
![]()
Business Matters: Canadian economy expands for second month in a row -
![]()
Federal government announces plan to build new Via Rail locomotives in Montreal
Statistics Canada says 51,000 core-aged people (25 to 54 years old) found work, and women in that category made up 33,000 of those jobs added.
The proportion of people who were unemployed in June and found work in July, measured as the job finding rate, increased to 20.8 per cent from 18.5 per cent a year earlier.
Get daily National news
The participation rate, which measures the share of Canadians age 15 or older that are either employed or considered actively looking for work, was 65.1 per cent, which Statistics Canada considered relatively unchanged from 65 per cent in June.
Meanwhile, the employed proportion of the same working age population last month was 60.9 per cent, up from 60.8 per cent in June.
CIBC economist Andrew Grantham said in a statement that the jobs report was mostly better than expected.
“Brisk hiring in July saw the unemployment rate tick lower again, despite a slight improvement in labour force participation. The 75,000 increase in employment was well above consensus forecasts.”
In a follow-up statement, Grantham said, “The Canadian labour market saw a summer surge in hiring, although with more people looking for work the unemployment rate only edged down slightly and remains higher than levels we believe are consistent with a balanced labour market.”
Youth unemployment (15 to 24 years old) was little changed at 12.6 per cent last month compared to 12.7 per cent in June, and down from a recent peak of 14.3 per cent in April. Compared to July 2025, the unemployment rate last month was 1.9 per cent lower for youth, but still higher than the pre-pandemic average of 10.8 per cent measured by the agency from 2017 to 2019.
Jobs were mostly split between full-time and part-time work, Statistics Canada says, with 58,000 jobs added in the private sector and self-employment increased by 44,000.
Meanwhile, the public sector shed 27,000 employees, says Statistics Canada. This comes as federal departments and agencies alone are looking to cut more than 12,000 full-time equivalent jobs over the next three years as part of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government spending review.
- Danielle Smith rejects taxing oil exports, pushes increased diplomacy efforts with U.S.
- Ontario’s order for new subway trains could be hit by Canadian counter-tariffs
- How is EI changing under Canada’s tariff relief plan — and is it enough?
- Would U.S. tariffs actually change after Trump, or is this the new normal?
-
![]()
‘My head is spinning’: Canadian flower growers face tariff crisis -
![]()
Ontario premier dials down rhetoric one day after telling Trump to ‘kiss my ass’ -
![]()
Small businesses hurt by U.S. tariffs worry they won’t be eligible for government support -
![]()
Canada unveils retaliatory tariffs against U.S. as trade war deepens
Wholesale and retail trade as a category saw the biggest increase in jobs last month compared to June at 21,000, but still down 50,000 jobs compared to a year earlier.
A large portion of July’s employment gains were also seen in finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing with 18,000, while professional, scientific and technical services increased by 17,000, and there were 16,000 new construction jobs added in the month.
Statistics Canada says employment in these three industries was still little changed on a year-over-year basis despite the monthly adds.
The economy likely fared a lot better in the second quarter, with Statistics Canada estimating real GDP grew 3.4 per cent on an annualized basis over the three-month period.
However, U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest threats of 50 per cent tariffs on a wide range of Canadian imports are casting fresh uncertainty over employers.
“The labour market is not yet strong — the unemployment rate is still higher than normal, and wage growth slowed in July. But it has been improving despite still significant U.S. tariff uncertainty and higher energy prices,” Nathan Janzen, assistant chief economist at Royal Bank of Canada said in a statement.
“Tariff risks remain, but CUSMA continues to backstop duty-free trade for most Canadian exports to the U.S — and broader U.S. global tariff rates have been edging gradually lower rather than higher.”
Leading up to the report’s release, economists have said the labour market appears to be stabilizing after the first quarter of the year brought a mild contraction and employers shed jobs.
– with a file from The Canadian Press
If liberal politicians truly wanted to fix Canadas problems, they would tell their Reichsministerium für Volksaufklärung und Propaganda (CBC) to convince every single Liberal voter to enrol in MAID
These stats are indicative of a totally weak and listless economy. In Canada, if the unemployment rate is less than 5% then the economy is performing well. Wait and see what happens when the Uni & College students go back to class. The jobless rate will spike and then you’ll actually see a true indication of the health of the Canadian economy. Way to go Liberals…smoke & mirrors again this year.
Wasn’t their some soccer thing going on in July that needed workers? We will see what August brings.
That is 2,750,000 ppl without work.
@Anonymous. Agree Carney’s policies are showing much promise. Many conservatives see this and are jumping ship!
Evidence that Carney’s policies are working is beginning to come out.
Another Conservative decides it’s time to make a career change.
Coincidence?
This news has been warmly welcomed by many economists and business writers who have congratulated the Carney government.
Hot dog sellers and cotton candy vendors during the summer festivals. But we can craft it so it looks like something…
This has nothing to do with Poilievre. Geezus, get your head out of the gutter.
Smoke and mirrors from Poilievre who is at 18% approval. Where is his thanks and appreciation for the hard work Carney did to achieve this?
Temporary construction and retail jobs, nothing more. These are not careers.
Numbers could be a lot better if the LPC didn’t flood the country with millions in dead weight. We need skills, not incompetence. The tariffs are the least of our concerns. If the liberals were serious about affordability, they’d drop all the carbon, plastic, and packaging taxes they’ve inflicted on us.
Could the media boost this up anymore ? It’s 75 thousand part time jobs in a country with a population of 40 Million people.
Really come on guy’s .
Smoke and mirrors trying to tell Canadians how rosy it is in the garden. Canadians know how bad the economy is they are facing higher prices every week at the grocery stores. Price of everything is going up and when winter comes heating costs will kick in which will add more strain on Canadian households
Tell us how many of these jobs are in Alberta and also how many more people did Carney put on the public sector payroll.
USA economy is way better than Canada. Unemployment much lowers and real GDP/capital much higher. USA didn’t have contraction like Canada in Q4 2025 and Q1 2026. Canada has had basically stagnant growth since 2023. Thank Carney and Trudeau.
Ok. I see. I understand. Aojdjzlandjfkznnshd924672
@ Dave – Who besides Stats Can keeps track of Canadian employment data? Name the source you are waiting for please.
I am waiting for credible commenters.
I will wait for a credible source
All those jobs due to summer and FIFA world cup are counted in this report. Those are all temporary jobs but as usual the Carney Liberals use deception to fool the gullible in Canada.
@ Tony Fuda – Do you need help with the big words?
The world’s leaders trust Carney’s guidance due to his experience and intelligence.
The world’s leaders no longer trust the US thanks to Trump’s volatility.
Well i guess we can count all those workers who get jobs at the CNE. How many of these new jobs were under the table paying types. Did they count lumber mill looses in BC. Are these jobs full time or part time seasonal. Data should include welfare rolls and UI counts. Until I see this data reported, I see nothing.
USA unemployment is SLIGHTLY lower than Canada’s due mostly to the way it’s measured. If it was measured the same way as Canada’s, the unemployment rate would be equal. The fact remains the last three months have seen huge job growth in Canada, but conservatives ignore anything positive.
USAs unemployment is much lower than Canadas. Canada also had a GDP contraction in Q4 2025 / Q1 2026. The only G20 country to have that negative with. Q2 might not be negative, but basically stagnant.
Leading business publications have stated Carney created proportionally more jobs than the USA. Why are the Poilievre conservatives complaining about this jobs report? Are they trying to talk down the Canadian economy for partisan political purposes? Shameless!
Bloomberg editor in chief Matt Winkler says Canada has outperformed the U.S., Eurozone, and global markets since Mark Carney became Prime Minister in March 2025.
Carney is better at doing what conservatives want done than conservatives are.
@A
Ben aka Benoit aka Beniamino aka Elizabeth aka Binyamem
Are all alter ego’s for Roy Stephenson the old Facebook troll
A steady stream of white collar job loss will continue indefinitely overall due to ai
Excellent news! I see the conservatives are out yapping about summer jobs. The unemployment rate is seasonally adjusted…do y’all not understand that concept?
So liberal cheerleader Ben (dover) is now Benoit. Same liberal garbage. Good try though.
All the World Cup jobs most likely. Next months will be a loss and in the fall. Nothing has changed in Canada.
Summer jobs,happens every year but the do nothing Liberals will spin it to their credit and the Elbozos will applaud blindly
Employment figures are seasonally adjusted. Of course the Poilievre conservatives can NEVER be happy when good things happen to Canada. Debbie downers all of them. Never invite them to a birthday party.
Agriculture field pickers – all migrant workers. While this is totally acceptable to me as they do very hard work, it isn’t net new jobs for Canadians.
Nothing but summer hires. The ‘blip’ will disappear when folks go back to school in about three weeks.
carney and his creeps have done NOTHING FOR JOBS ACROSS CANADA! Only Oinktario and now Alberta(only cause the creeper wants something).
Anyone who supports the Liberals and Chicken Con Carney are id*ots.