Canada’s Job Market Is Booming If You Ignore Population Revisions

Canada’s economy is booming, as long as you ignore the actual data and upcoming revisions. Statistics Canada’s (StatCan) latest Labour Force Survey (LFS) shows seasonally adjusted employment climbed by 75,000 jobs in July. The unseasoned reality was a little less savoury, showing a 6-digit decline in the same month, along with rising unemployment. The picture may be even worse than presented, with a Big Six bank projecting substantial upward revisions to population estimates in just a few weeks. Canadian Unemployment Falls To 2-Year Low* Canadian seasonally adjusted unemployment rate. Source: StatCan. Canadian seasonally adjusted (SA) employment rose 0.4% (+75k) to 21,215,000 in July, adding 0.1 points to the employment rate. This helped trim 0.1 points from the SA unemployment rate, which fell to 6.4%, its lowest level since July 2024. Two provinces that have been lagging got a boost from the World Cup last month. Ontario made the most gains, seeing its SA employment rise 0.6% (+52k), pushing its unemployment rate to 6.8%—its lowest point since July 2024. BC also saw employment rise 0.6% (+18k), pushing its unemployment rate to 6.2%, shedding 0.6 points in two months. What do you ...