July employment data beats forecasts as unemployment drops to 6.4% and wage growth moderates to 3.0% annually.
Canada added 75.1K jobs in July, pushing the unemployment rate down to 6.4%, below market expectations. The gain follows an 18.2K increase in June and lifts the participation rate slightly to 65.1%.
Wage growth slowed to a 3.0% annual pace from June’s 3.7%, signaling easing inflation pressures. Analysts had anticipated a smaller employment increase and steady wage trends.
The Canadian dollar strengthened on the news, driving USD/CAD below 1.4000 for the first time since mid-June.