Canadian economy adds 54.1 net jobs in July, jobless rate falls slightly to 5.8 pct

Canada’s economy added 54.1k net jobs in July. With just a small rise in the labor force, the jobless rate dropped by two ticks to 5.8 percent. Delving into details, the report seems mixed again this month. Part-time employment led the increase for a third consecutive month, adding 82k net positions. Full-time employment saw a slight fall of 28k. By type, it was largely the public sector that hired on net in July, as private employers added a net 5.2k employees.

The service sector led the way, added 90.5k positions on net, with notable gains in educational services and health care. On the contrary, 36.5k net positions were shed among goods producers, including manufacturers and the construction sector. The action was concentrated in Ontario where 60.6k net jobs were added.

However, it was a less positive story for wages. Average hourly earnings for permanent employees rose 3 percent year-on-year, slowing for a second month. Wage growth above 3 percent was reported in less than half of major industries. On a year-on-year basis, job growth rose to 1.3 percent, consistent with gradual deceleration that started around mid-2017.

“We're still a ways away from the next Bank of Canada rate decision, but with this first glimpse of third quarter activity kicking things off more or less on the right foot, the conditions remain right for further rate increases”, stated TD Economics in a research report.

At 18:00 GMT the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of Canadian Dollar was highly bullish at 105.422, while the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of US Dollar was slightly bullish at 67.424. For more details on FxWirePro's Currency Strength Index, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex