Canada's unemployment rate drops to 6.9%, economy adds 83,100 jobs
The economy added 83,100 new jobs in June, the first net increase since January, Statistics Canada said. Most of this employment growth was in part-time work.
Analysts polled by Reuters had estimated the unemployment rate to tick up to 7.1% from 7% in May, with no job additions. The jobs report usually has a standard error of around 32,000 between two consecutive months.
This is the final jobs report before the Bank of Canada's monetary policy decision on July 30 and a better than expected unemployment and job addition numbers is likely to tilt the bank towards another hold in its policy rate.
The June inflation data coming next week will be the final number which will help the central bank seal its decision.
Money markets are betting that the odds of a rate cut this month are at just 30%, a slight change from Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose 35% tariffs on all Canadian imports from Aug. 1, which will be over and above the already existing tariffs on various sectors.
While the number of unemployed Canadians in June hardly changed from May, it was up 9% to 128,000 on a year-over-year basis and over one in five unemployed people had been searching for work for 27 weeks or more in June, an sharp increase from June 2024.
Statistics Canada said the layoff rate in June did not show any major uptick and remained low at 0.5% relative to historical averages barring recessionary periods.
Tariff exposed sectors such as transportation and manufacturing had been showing signs of strain for the three months through May.
The employment in transportation dropped by 3,400 people in June while manufacturing posted a jump of 10,500, StatsCan said.
The biggest increase in employment was a 33,600 jump seen in wholesale and retail trade. Healthcare and social assistance saw a jump of 16,700 people while agriculture sector shed 6,000 people in June.
The participation rate, or the number of people employed and unemployed in the total population was at 65.4% in June, up from 65.3% in May.
The average hourly wage of permanent employees - a gauge closely tracked by the BoC to ascertain inflationary trends - grew by 3.2% to C$37.22.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
17 minutes ago
- The Independent
FTSE 100 closes up despite ‘harsh' UK jobs data
Stock prices in London closed mostly higher on Thursday, with markets ultimately reassured by US President Donald Trump stating that he did not currently intend to fire Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell. 'I don't rule out anything, but I think it's highly unlikely,' Mr Trump had stated on Wednesday, after suggesting on Tuesday that a 2.5 billion-dollar (£1.86 billion) renovation plan at the Fed was 'sort of' a fireable offence. Rostro's Joshua Mahony described the prevailing sentiment as a 'widespread belief that to (sack Mr Powell) would provide a particularly bad signal to financial markets'. The FTSE 100 index closed up 46.09 points, 0.5%, at 8,972.64. The FTSE 250 ended up 164.57 points, 0.8%, at 21,766.43, and the AIM All-Share closed down 3.17 points, 0.4%, at 768.93. 'Having seen a rapid retreat from the briefly attained 9,000 mark earlier this week, the FTSE 100 made steady progress on Thursday to put this milestone level back within reach,' AJ Bell's Dan Coatsworth said. On the FTSE 250, Premier Foods lost 3.0%. The St Albans, Hertfordshire-based maker of branded and non-branded food said Mr Kipling birthday tarts performed strongly in its first quarter, while gravy, stock and soup proved less than popular amid the recent heatwave in the UK. Sales edged up 0.2% to £239.7 million in the three months ended June 28, but grocery sales fell 2.8% to £174.4 million. Meanwhile, new categories revenue jumped 38% in the quarter, while Sweet Treats branded sales were up 11%. On AIM, Empyrean Energy surged by over 400%. The oil and gas development firm said the operator of the Mako field has signed a gas sales agreement with state-owned electric utility company PT PLN Energi Primer Indonesia. The deal signed by Conrad Asia Energy Ltd covers the current Duyung production sharing contract, which houses Mako, and allows for the sale of up to 111 billion British thermal units per day. Ixico rose 13%. The London-based medical research firm said it expects to report revenue of at least £6.3 million for the year ending September 30, ahead of expectations. This would be up at least 8.6% on an annual basis. Ixico added that it expects this growth in revenue to continue into 2026, 'moving the company towards medium-term profitability'. The pound was quoted lower at 1.3414 US dollars at the time of the London equities close on Thursday, compared with 1.3473 dollars on Wednesday. This followed the UK jobless rate growing to 4.7% in the three months to May, despite consensus expecting it to remain unchanged at 4.6%. 'This morning has provided yet another harsh reality check for the (Bank of England) and (Chancellor) Rachel Reeves, with the latest jobs report seeing a four-year high for unemployment, the highest claimant count change in 11 months, and the lowest wage growth in almost three years,' Mr Mahony warned. 'Coming hot off the heels of yesterday's unwelcome CPI rise that puts the UK as having the highest inflation rate in the G7, the BoE (Bank of England) are clearly in a sticky situation. 'Between negative growth, rising inflation, a black hole in the public finances, and now higher unemployment, we are looking at an economy that needs help but where both the treasury and central bank have their hands tied.' The euro stood at 1.1594 dollars, down against 1.1708 dollars. Against the yen, the dollar was trading higher at 148.48 yen compared with 147.97 yen. In European equities on Thursday, the CAC 40 in Paris closed up 1.2%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt ended up 1.4%. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday signed a treaty that is set to free up school exchange visits and passport e-gates. The agreement was also signed by Foreign Secretary David Lammy and his German counterpart Johann Wadephul. Sir Keir described the 'Kensington Treaty' as 'evidence of the closeness of our relationship as it stands today' as well as a 'statement of intent, a statement of our ambition to work ever more closely together'. Stocks in New York were higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.4%, the S&P 500 index up 0.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.8%. The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.45%, narrowing from 4.48%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 4.99%, narrowing from 5.06%. The US Department of Labour on Thursday reported that a lower number of Americans filed for new unemployment benefits last week, defying expectations of an increase. Seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims stood at 221,000 in the week that ended July 12, down by 7,000 from 228,000 a week earlier, which was revised up from 227,000. The FXStreet-cited market consensus had pencilled in an increase to 235,000. The four-week moving average of initial claims, which smooths weekly volatility, decreased by 6,250 to 229,500. On an unadjusted basis, initial claims rose 8.1% from the previous week to 260,900 in the week that ended July 12. Brent oil was quoted at 68.94 US dollars a barrel at the time of the London equities close on Thursday, up from 67.87 dollars late on Wednesday. Gold was quoted lower at 3,338.20 dollars an ounce against 3,371.80 dollars. The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Diploma, up 341.0p at 5,245.03p, Ashtead Group, up 146.0p at 4,825.0p, Spirax, up 125.0p at 6,145.0p, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, up 110.0p at 7,120.0p, and Whitbread, up 97.0p at 3,121p. The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were AstraZeneca, down 124.0p at 10,312p, British American Tobacco, down 60.0p at 3,813.0p, Endeavour Mining, down 60.0p at 2,172.0p, InterContinental Hotels, down 40.12p at 8,563.8p, and easyJet, down 30.8p at 495.0p. On Friday's economic calendar, Germany has producer inflation; there is current account and construction data from the eurozone; and the US has building permits and the Michigan consumer sentiment index. On Friday's UK corporate calendar, Bridgepoint releases its half-year results and United Utilities holds its annual general meeting. And on the global corporate calendar there are half-year results from American Express, Comerica, Kone and others.
The Independent
17 minutes ago
- The Independent
Trump's cane sugar push for Coke triggers backlash from key industry
Donald Trump suggested Coca-Cola change its U.S. recipe from high-fructose corn syrup to sugar cane, stating it would be a "very good move". The Corn Refiners Association (CRA) opposed the proposal, warning it would cost thousands of American food manufacturing jobs and depress farm income. The CRA added that replacing high-fructose corn syrup would boost imports of foreign sugar and offer no nutritional benefit, contradicting Trump's stated support for American manufacturing. While Coca-Cola typically uses high-fructose corn syrup in the U.S., the company already uses cane sugar in its products in other countries, such as Mexico. Coca-Cola acknowledged Trump's enthusiasm for the brand but did not confirm a full shift to sugar cane, instead mentioning that details on new innovative offerings would be shared soon.
Daily Mail
17 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
The staggering figure Trump has already raised from tariffs as US economy continues to defy expectations
The Trump administration has collected almost $50 billion from tariffs since initiating a global trade war in April. So far only Canada and China have retaliated against the steep tariffs that President Donald Trump has either threatened or imposed on much of the world. The White House currently imposes a minimum tariff of 10 percent on all foreign imports, 50 percent on steel and aluminum and 25 percent on car parts. US revenues from customs duties hit $64 billion in the second quarter of this year. The record high represents $47 billion more than the same period last year, according to US Treasury data. The duty income from other countries' tariffs on American goods has paled in comparison to the US revenue made in the same period. Many countries decided against retaliating with their own levies in a desperate bid to avoid even higher rates as negotiations took place. The EU, the world's biggest trading bloc, has put off implementing planned tariffs ahead of Trump's August 1 deadline for talks to conclude. It comes as The Wall Street Journal's chief economics correspondent delivered a surprise assessment on Wednesday - saying that Trump is 'winning' on trade policy. Greg Ip published his latest take on Trump's tariff wars in the publication on Tuesday, while criticizing the cruel nickname assigned to him after he 'chickened out' of imposing extreme tariffs. 'Trump has, by his own definition of success, already won his trade war,' Ip wrote, 'even without [the] deals' he vowed to reach with foreign allies. Trump faced harsh criticism for backing down on his 'Liberation Day' tariffs, earning him the moniker 'TACO' for 'Trump Always Chickens Out.' Trump threatened to redouble tariffs on any country that defied him by raising tariffs on the US, meaning many saw economic prudence in not hitting back. America also has an upper hand as the world's largest consumer market, meaning countries cannot afford for the US market for their goods to dry up. 'Unlike the 1930s when countries had more balanced trading relationships, today's world features a hub-and-spoke system with the US at the centre,' Marta Bengoa, professor of international economics at City University of New York, told The Financial Times. 'That makes retaliation economically less desirable for most countries, even when it might be politically satisfying.' Alexander Klein, professor of economic history at the University of Sussex, agreed, arguing that countries and blocs such as the EU are looking to minimize any further escalation and the inflation such a scenario could induce. US revenue from customs duties raked in $64 billion in the second quarter of the year The duty income from other countries' tariffs on American goods has paled in comparison to the US revenue made in the second quarter of this year Trump faced harsh criticism for backing down on his 'Liberation Day' tariffs, earning him the moniker 'TACO' for 'Trump Always Chickens Out' 'I'd like to think leaders were learning the lessons of history, but I fear that's optimistic. More likely, the EU, Canada and many other governments fear the hit to global supply linkages and inflation from escalation,' he said. 'Trump cares less about that, so is taking advantage.' Consumers have been warned that prices for everyday goods, including groceries, will rise as a result of the levies. However, supply chain experts say companies are finding ways to spread the cost out across global markets to minimize the impact on US consumers, The Financial Times reported. 'Global brands can try and swallow some of the tariff cost through smart sourcing and cost savings but the majority will have to be distributed across other markets, because US consumers might swallow a 5 percent increase, but not 20 or even 40,' supply chain expert Simon Geale told the publication. Nonetheless grocery giant Walmart said it is raising its prices to offset the cost of tariffs. Equally car giants have started to raise their prices to maintain their profit margins. But despite rising prices, Americans continued shopping in June, according to new data released Thursday by the US Commerce Department. Retail sales rose 0.6 percent last month, which is a major boost compared to the 0.9 percent decline in May. The June numbers were also stronger than analysts expected. Economists predicted retail sales would rebound only 0.2 percent. 'June's retail sales were resilient and they show that the consumer is still willing and able to spend,' Neil Saunders, a retail expert at GlobalData, told
