OTTAWA: Canada added an estimated 6,600 jobs in July from June, in a mixed report from Statistics Canada on Friday that left analysts concluding that while the economy was not spectacular, it was at least “steady as she goes.”
The gain in July nearly mirrored a fall in June while holding on to May’s outsized gain of 58,900. The average increase is 19,700 jobs in the last three months and 11,200 in the last half year. The jobless rate held at 6.8%.
The median forecast in a Reuters survey of economists was for a gain of 5,000 jobs, with the jobless rate at 6.8%.
However, the number of full-time positions fell by 17,300 and the number of employees actually fell an estimated 33,900, with the self-employed rising by 40,500. Employment grew in the services sector but fell in the goods-producing sector.
