Another 45,000 people became unemployed across the country last month -- more than twice what most economists had predicted.
Statistics Canada released the latest jobless numbers on Friday morning. They showed losses in both full- and part-time work. Construction and the hotel industry were particularly hard-hit.
The opposition quickly jumped on the numbers, saying they're proof that the federal stimulus program hasn't been effective.
Many more jobs were eliminated in July than the 7,400 that were lost in June.
The number of people with full-time or private sector jobs both continued to slide.
"Since October, total employment has fallen by 2.4 per cent, all in full-time work, with the vast majority of employment losses in manufacturing, construction, and transportation and warehousing," the report stated.
"During the same period, the unemployment rate increased 2.3 percentage points to 8.6 per cent, the highest rate in 11 years."
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, speaking to CTV's Canada AM on Friday morning, said he wasn't surprised by the report and cautioned Canadians to brace for more bad news on the country's labour market.
"We expect that there will be continued job losses and this will go on for some months. We look forward to a recovery in 2010 when things will get better," Flaherty said.
"It's still a recession, and we still have to work our way out of it."
Opposition lashes out
Within hours of the release of the report, Liberal finance critic John McCallum charged that the numbers show Ottawa's stimulus program isn't working.
"The fact that construction jobs fell this month, in the height of the construction season, reinforces the point that we've been making, that the government's infrastructure money is not getting out the door," he said.
BNN's Michael Kane said most economic observers didn't anticipate such steep losses.
"The expectation after losses of 7,400 jobs in June was that it would be double to about 15,000. So to have it come in at more than double the expectation at 44,500, that is a major event," Kane told Canada AM.
The province of Quebec was hardest hit, losing 38,100 full-time jobs and gaining relatively little part-time work. Unemployment in the province rose to 9 per cent, a five-year high.
In spite of the growing job losses, the official unemployment rate remained unchanged at 8.6 percent from June to July, as fewer people participated in the work force, StatsCan said. The agency's unemployment rate excludes jobless people who are not seeking work.
Roughly 75,000 people from coast to coast also became self-employed.
