Canada lost nearly 66,000 jobs in August

Canada lost nearly 66,000 jobs in August and the unemployment rate hit a nine-year high of 7.1 per cent, excluding the pandemic.

Statistics Canada said the Canadian economy lost most part-time jobs last month. The rise in the unemployment rate has also raised the possibility of the Bank of Canada cutting interest rates this month.

About 1.6 million people were unemployed in Canada in August. The unemployment rate was last seen near 7 per cent in May 2016, according to Statistics Canada.

It is worth noting that the Canadian economy has shown a tolerable level in the face of US tariffs on steel, aluminum and cars in the past few months, but the latest labour data from StatCan shows that the tariffs have started to affect other sectors as well.

Self-employment and service-related industries such as transportation, professional services and education recorded job losses in August. The manufacturing sector fell by 19,000 jobs.