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August 6 2010 - Statistics Canada reported that the unemployment rate edged back up 0.1% to 8.0% in July as large gains in part-time jobs were offset by losses in long-term positions. Alberta and British Columbia gained jobs overall while Quebec's job market showed an overall loss.

Seasonally adjusted, unemployment rates vary from 15.0% (Newfoundland and Labrador) to 5.1% (Saskatchewan).

Rates for all the provinces were (previous month in brackets):

• Newfoundland and Labrador 15.0% (14.7%)
• Prince Edward Island 10.8% (12.3%)
• Nova Scotia 9.3% (8.8%)
• New Brunswick 9.0% (9.3%)
• Quebec 8.2% (7.8%)
• Ontario 8.5% (8.3%)
• Manitoba 5.6% (5.3%)
• Saskatchewan 5.1% (5.5%)
• Alberta 6.3% (6.7%)
• British Columbia 7.5% (7.8%)

Ken Georgetti, president of the Canadian Labour Congress said this was an appalling jobs report:

"The loss of almost 150,000 permanent employee jobs last month combined with the increase in part-time work to an all time high of one in five suggests that the recovery in the job market may be coming to an end. With almost 1.5 million workers still unemployed - up more than 350,000 from before the recession - the focus has to remain on job creation."

CLC Senior Economist Sylvain Schetagne provided the following analysis:

• The performance of the labour market in July 2010 was catastrophic. The unemployment rate is back up to 8.0%. The number of full-time jobs in Canada decreased very rapidly in July, when 139,000 full-time jobs were eliminated. The number of permanent employees fell by even more, by 144,400.
• Full-time job losses were offset by a shift to part-time work (+129,700). One worker out of 5 now works part-time, the highest proportion ever recorded since data has been collected (1976).
• Overall, a total of 9,300 jobs were eliminated in July, the first decrease in employment since the beginning of 2010.
• There are still more than 250,000 fewer full-time jobs today than at the beginning of this 'Great Recession' in October 2008 (-266,200).
• The long term unemployment rate remains high. The percentage of Canadians who have been unemployed for more than 6 months was 22.5% in July, the highest level of long term unemployment observed since the job crisis started in October 2008. Before the crisis, the long term unemployment rate was around 12%.
• The real unemployment rate, a rate that includes discouraged workers and involuntary part-time workers, was 12% in July 2010, a rate considerably higher than what was observed in October 2008 (8%). There are still 355,000 more unemployed Canadians today than in the fall of 2008.
• Jobs were eliminated last month for both men and women, in almost all age groups and concentrated in the service industries, especially in educational services (-65,300). Manufacturing is up this month (28,500), but remains near its record low level.
• These appalling job numbers clearly show the folly of ending stimulus measures to support an economic recovery which has been cast in doubt. Special EI measures end in Septmber, and the infrastructure investment program ends next March.

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