In July, employment was little changed, with jobs falling by 2,800 (-0.0%), and the employment rate reaching 60.9% after declining by 0.2 percentage points, while the unemployment rate remained steady at 6.4%. During the same month, employment among women fell by 41,000 jobs (-2.6%), and among men aged 55-64 by 15,000 jobs (-0.8%). Jobs among young people aged 15-24 also fell by 20,000 jobs (-1.5%), while among men aged 25-54 they rose by 48,000 jobs (+0.7%).
Certain sectors saw employment declines, such as wholesale and retail trade (-44,000 jobs; -1.5%) and finance, insurance, real estate and rentals (-15,000 jobs; -1.0%). In contrast, employment increased in public administration (+20,000 jobs; +1.6%), transportation and warehousing (+15,000 jobs; +1.4%), and utilities (+6,200 jobs; +4.2%). Regionally, employment declined in Manitoba (-5,400 jobs; -0.8%) and Nova Scotia (-4,800 jobs; -0.9%), while it increased in Ontario (+22,000 jobs; +0.3%) and Saskatchewan (+6,700 jobs; +1.1%).
Total hours worked increased 1.0% in July. Median wages also rose 5.2% (up $1.73 to $34.97) year-over-year in July, following a 5.4% increase in June. The employment rate for returning students aged 15 to 24 was 51.3% in July, down 6.8 percentage points from a year ago. Employment was little changed for the third straight month:Employment was flat for the third straight month in July (-2,800; -0.0%). On a year-over-year basis, employment rose by 346,000 (+1.7%). The employment rate—the share of the population aged 15 and older who are employed—declined 0.2 percentage points to 60.9% in July.
The employment rate has been on a downward trend since peaking at 62.4% in January and February 2023 and has declined in nine of the past 10 months. In July 2024, the increase in full-time employment (+62,000; +0.4%) was offset by a decrease in part-time employment (-6,400; -1.7%). Despite these changes.
Decrease in private sector employment and increase in public sector
In July, the private sector saw a decrease in the number of employees by 42,000 jobs (-0.3%), after two months of little change in employment. However, on an annual basis, the private sector recorded employment growth of 0.6% (+86,000 jobs).
In contrast, employment in the public sector increased by 41,000 jobs (+0.9%) during the same month, and increased by 205,000 jobs (+4.8%) compared to the previous twelve months. The increase in public sector employment was led by increases in health care and social assistance (+87,000 jobs; +6.9%), public administration (+57,000 jobs; +4.8%), and education services (+33,000 jobs; +3.3%), according to non-seasonally adjusted data.
The self-employment rate was largely unchanged in July, rising by 55,000 jobs (+2.1%) year-on-year. The employment rate among young men aged 15-24 fell (-20,000; -1.5%) in July, while it remained stable among women in the same age group. The employment rates of young men (-5.5 percentage points to 52.4%) and young women (-2.4 percentage points to 55.7%) fell year-on-year. The employment rate rose by 48,000 jobs (+0.7%) among men in the core age group (25-54 years) in July. The increase in the employment rate for this group in July (+0.2 percentage points to 86.8%) partly offset the cumulative decrease of 0.7 percentage points in May and June.
On an annual basis, the employment rate for both women of primary working age (-1.0 percentage points to 80.5%) and men of primary working age (-0.9 percentage points to 86.8%) decreased in July. For people aged 55-64, the employment rate decreased among women (-4,100; -2.6%) and men (-1,500; -0.8%) in July. The employment rate decreased compared to the previous 12 months for women in this age group (-1.7 percentage points to 58.8%), while it remained largely unchanged for men (69.3%)
The employment rate among returning students continues to decline in July
While the Labor Force Survey (LFS) from May through August collects labor market information for students ages 15 to 24 who were enrolled in school full-time in March and intend to return in the fall, July data revealed continued declines in employment among these students.
In July 2024, the employment rate for returning students was 51.3%, down 6.8 percentage points from July 2023. This is the lowest rate since July 1997, with the exception of July 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The employment rate for returning male students also declined 9.1 percentage points to 47.9%, while the employment rate for returning female students decreased 4.6 percentage points to 54.5% (not seasonally adjusted).
The unemployment rate for returning students was 17.2% in July, the highest monthly rate for the same month since 2009 (excluding July 2020). July labor market indicators suggest that the summer labor market will remain difficult for returning young students in 2024, reflecting greater challenges than in previous years.
Labor force participation rate declines: The labor force participation rate—the share of the population ages 15 and older who are working or looking for work—declined 0.3 percentage points to 65.0% in July, the lowest rate since June 1998 (excluding 2020 and 2021, during the pandemic). On an annual basis, the participation rate declined by 0.6 percentage points in July 2024.
While the aging of the baby boom generation has put downward pressure on the labor force participation rate over the years, the latest year-over-year decline in July 2024 largely reflects declines among young men (-2.5 percentage points to 62.4%), young women (-1.3 percentage points to 63.5%), and nuclear-age women (-1.0 percentage points to 84.6%)
Unemployment rates in Canada and the United States show an upward trend
Comparing Canadian data to U.S. benchmarks, Canada’s unemployment rate for July was 5.4%, about 1.1 percentage points higher than the U.S. unemployment rate of 4.3%. Over the past 12 months, unemployment rates in both countries have increased by about 0.8 percentage points.
While employment has declined in both countries over the past year, the decline has been more pronounced in Canada. Between July 2023 and July 2024, Canada’s employment rate, by U.S. standards, fell by 1.0 percentage points to 61.5%. In contrast, the U.S. employment rate fell by 0.4 percentage points to 60.0%.
