CALGARY — Statistics Canada has revealed that 42,000 jobs were lost in August, despite some economists projecting jobs gains.Released Friday, more than 40,000 jobs were lost in Canada, while the unemployment rate stayed stagnant at the same rate it was a month earlier, 6.4%.According to a Reuters poll, economic analysts had predicted 15,000 more jobs would be added to the Canadian economy, which did not come to fruition, after the 75,100 added in July.Perhaps one of the reasons for the job loss, said Anupriya Gangopadhyay, an Economist, Business Data Lab at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, is because of tariff rift going on between Canada and the US, bringing economic uncertainty. .This rift includes the US placing 50% tariffs on about $28 billion of Canadian goods, and Canada, in response, is expected to impose retaliatory 25% and 50% tariffs on US goods, starting September 8."As trade uncertainty continues to weigh on hiring decisions in Canada, including new U.S. tariffs announced toward the end of August, the labour market lost some of its summer momentum," stated Gangopadhyay."The weakness was concentrated among workers aged 25 to 54, while youth employment also softened as the summer hiring season neared its end."Youth unemployment (between ages 15 and 24) fell in August to 12.9%, from July's 12.6%."Still, student labour market conditions were better than last year, with average summer unemployment for returning students lower than in 2025," stated Gangopadhyay.."Sectoral performance was mixed: manufacturing added jobs, but losses in business support services, public administration, natural resources and utilities pointed to broader caution in hiring."Overall, there was little change to the private sector and self-employment in August, though the public sector shed 20,000 positions in its third straight month of losses.What was truly notable in August, was that BC lost 26,000 full-time jobs, with its provincial unemployment climbing to 6.5%. "A gain of 20,600 part-time jobs masked much of the 5,500 overall employment decline," pointed out the BC Conservative Party. .In contrast, the country south of the border added more than 100,000 jobs to its labour market.As reported by Yahoo News, the US gained 162,000 jobs in August, reportedly beating the projections of economists, who predicted a gain of only 55,000 jobs.Its unemployment rate also remained steady from a month prior, at 4.1%.
