StatCan: Unemployment rate keeps steady, retail jobs fall in July
August 9, 2022Statistics Canada released its Labour Force Survey (LFS) for July 2022, revealing Canada’s jobless rate was unchanged at a very low 4.9%.
In retail, the number of people working in wholesale and retail trade fell by 0.9% – the second consecutive monthly decline in the industry. The vast majority of the net decrease took place in Ontario (-14,000; -1.3%) and Quebec (-12,000; -1.8%). Compared with 12 months earlier, employment in wholesale and retail trade — as measured by the LFS — was up 82,000 (+2.9%) in July. RCC members looking to explore this data and more are encouraged to visit the Retail Jobs section of the RCC Retail Dashboard.
Other highlights include:
- While employment was little changed on a monthly basis in July (-31,000), cumulative declines from May to July totaled 74,000 (-0.4%). From May 2021 to May 2022; employment had increased by more than one million (+1,056,000; +5.7%);
- The average hourly wages of employees were up 5.2% (+$1.55 to $31.14) on a year-over-year basis in July, matching the pace of wage growth recorded in June.
For questions or more information contact
Kate Skipton
Senior Policy Analyst, Government Relations
kskipton@retailcouncil.org
416 467-3744
