Employment little changed in July
Employment was little changed on a monthly basis in July (-31,000). Compared with May, employment was down 74,000 (-0.4%).
The number of public sector employees fell by 51,000 (-1.2%) in July, while the number of self-employed workers increased by 34,000 (+1.3%). The number of private sector employees was little changed.
Employment fell among women aged 55 and older (-33,000; -1.7%) and women aged 25 to 54 (-31,000; -0.5%) in July. For men aged 55 and older, employment rose by 32,000 (+1.4%). It was little changed among youth aged 15 to 24 and men aged 25 to 54.
In the services-producing sector, employment fell by 53,000 (-0.3%) in July, with losses spread across several industries, including wholesale and retail trade, health care and social assistance, and educational services.
Employment rose in the goods-producing sector (+23,000; +0.6%) in July.
Total hours worked were down 0.5% in July.
The average hourly wages of employees were up 5.2% (+$1.55 to $31.14) on a year-over-year basis in July, matching the pace of wage growth recorded in June.
Unemployment rate remains at record low
The unemployment rate held steady at 4.9% in July, matching the historic low reached in June.
The adjusted unemployment rate—which includes people who were not in the labour force but wanted to work—remained at 6.8% in July, also matching its record low.
Long-term unemployment dropped 23,000 (-12.2%) to 162,000 in July, the third consecutive monthly decline.
