Canada's Payrolls Continue to Post Job Declines in August After July's Drop

08:47 AM EDT, 10/29/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Canadian payroll employment, as measured in the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (SEPH), fell by 49,600, or 0.3% month, in August, following a decline of 15,700, or 0.11%, in July, Statistics Canada said Thursday. Employment declined in half of the 20 sectors, with the largest losses in public administration (22,300), accommodation and food services (6,800), and information and cultural industries (5,000), the agency said. Despite the back-to-back monthly declines, employment was still up 57,200, or 0.3, annually, said StatsCan. Job vacancies held steady at 507,200 for an eighth straight month, up 25,800, or 5.4%, from a year earlier. Average weekly hours worked held steady at 33.4, up 0.6% from August 2025. The key objective of SEPH is to provide a monthly portrait of the level of earnings, employment and hours worked, by detailed industry, at the national, provincial and territorial levels. Payroll employment, as measured by the SEPH, refers to the number of employees receiving pay or benefits (employment income) during a given month. The survey excludes the self-employed, owners and partners of unincorporated businesses and professional practices and employees in the agricultural sector.