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The unemployment rate in the Montreal region remained unchanged from the month before in July, at 6.7 per cent, though it is 1.5 percentage points higher than in July 2023, Statistics Canada said Friday.
While the percentage of the labour force without jobs was unchanged, the employment rate dropped slightly, from 61.6 per cent in July, to 61.5 per cent in June. It is down 3.1 percentage points from the equivalent period last year, the federal statistics agency said.
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That’s despite the Montreal region adding 5,900 jobs from June to July, a month-over-month increase that had little effect on the employment rate because of growth in the working age population.
The number of jobs in the Montreal census metropolitan area has dropped by 33,700 since July 2023.
In the Toronto census metropolitan area, the trend was similar, with unemployment rising from 7.6 per cent in June, to 7.7 per cent in July. It was 1.2 percentage points higher than in July 2023.
In Toronto, which added 12,100 jobs between June and July, the employment rate dropped slightly from 61.3 per cent in June to 61.2 per cent in July. The employment rate in the region, which has added 50,900 jobs over the past year, has dropped by 2.2 percentage points since July 2023 as growth in the size of the working age population outpaced job growth.
Across Quebec, the unemployment rate was steady at 5.7 per cent in July and there was little change in employment, Statistics Canada said. Compared to the year before, there was little change in the number of jobs, but the unemployment rate rose by 1.2 percentage points because the number of people looking for work rose by 62,000.
The unemployment rate across Canada was 6.4 per cent in July, unchanged from the month before.
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