- Statistics Canada’s July 2026 labour force survey showed the country added 75,000 jobs, pushing the unemployment rate to its lowest point in two years
- Ontario led all provinces with 52,000 new jobs, while wholesale and retail trade accounted for a large share of national gains
- Economists flagged a racial gap in youth unemployment, with Black youth recording a jobless rate nearly double that of non-racialised peers
Legit.ng journalist, Ridwan Adeola Yusuf, has over 4 years of experience covering migration and international issues.
Ottawa, Canada – Amid the ongoing ‘japa’ trend, Canada’s labour market added 75,000 jobs in July 2026, bringing the national unemployment rate down to 6.4 per cent, its lowest level in two years, according to the latest Labour Force Survey released by Statistics Canada on Friday, August 7.
‘Japa’ is a popular Nigerian slang term for emigrating in search of better opportunities.
Source: Twitter
Canada jobs boom: Japa opportunity?
As reported on Friday, August 7, by Canada’s national public broadcaster, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), the gains were recorded across both full-time and part-time positions, with the wholesale and retail trade sector accounting for 21,000 of the new jobs.
The Toronto Star also reported the development.
Employment growth was strongest among workers aged 25 to 54, largely driven by women in that age group.
The unemployment rate for women aged 25 to 54 fell to 5.2 per cent, while the rate for men in the same age bracket remained unchanged at 5.8 per cent, according to the report.
Ontario posted the largest provincial gain, adding 52,000 jobs , a 0.6 per cent increase, concentrated in professional, scientific and technical services. British Columbia recorded 18,000 new positions, while Manitoba and Nova Scotia each saw employment rise by 0.8 per cent, adding roughly 5,900 and 4,600 jobs respectively.
Statistics Canada noted Canada has added 181,000 jobs since April and 196,000 compared with the same period a year ago.
CIBC senior economist Andrew Grantham described July’s figures as “well above” forecasts, attributing the result to “brisk hiring.” He added that the student summer job market was stronger than it had been in two years, and that unemployment among young people aged 15 to 24 reached its lowest point since early 2024.
However, the picture for racialised youth was significantly worse. The July unemployment rate for Black youth stood at 22.6 per cent, compared with 15.4 per cent for Chinese youth, 13.9 per cent for South Asian youth, and 11.6 per cent for non-racialised and non-Indigenous youth.
Grantham also cautioned that despite the improvement, the overall 6.4 per cent rate remains about half a percentage point above what would be considered full employment in Canada, meaning it is not at a level that “will fuel domestically driven inflation.”
BMO chief economist Douglas Porter observed that Canada’s labour force has grown by fewer than 8,000 jobs per month on average over the past year, noting that “it doesn’t take much in the way of job gains to carve down that jobless rate.” He also flagged that average hourly wage growth had slowed to 2.8 per cent year on year in July, down from 3.3 per cent in June, which he called “the slowest in four years.”
Can Canada’s jobs growth continue?
Despite three consecutive months of job growth, analysts pointed to potential headwinds. Laura Ulrich, director of economic research at Indeed, said the sustained gains were encouraging but cautioned that stabilisation would need to hold into the autumn to confirm a genuine turning point.
Desjardins managing director Royce Mendes said businesses appeared to be adapting to trade-related pressures, but significant uncertainty remains. US President Donald Trump has threatened 50 per cent tariffs on a wide range of Canadian imports, set to take effect on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, while talks on the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement are scheduled to resume in the autumn.
Read a post on X (formerly Twitter) below about the latest social situation in Canada:
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Previously, Legit.ng reported that Japan released a list of 74 countries allowed entry without a visa.
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Source: Legit.ng