OTTAWA:

The Canadian economy lost tens of thousands of jobs in July, sending the share of people employed to an eight-month low, data showed on Friday, as the labour market gave back the gains seen in the prior month.

The economy shed 40,800 jobs in July, compared with a net addition of 83,000 jobs in June, taking the employment rate, or the percentage of people employed out of the total working-age population, to 60.7%, Statistics Canada said. The unemployment rate, however, remained steady at a near multi-year high of 6.9%.

Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast the economy would add 13,500 jobs and the unemployment rate would tick up to 7%. US President Donald Trump’s sectoral tariffs on steel, aluminium and autos have hit the manufacturing sector hard and reduced the hiring intentions of companies, the Bank of Canada has previously said. The number of people employed in manufacturing shrank by close to 10,000 in July on a yearly basis as sectors linked to steel, aluminium and autos curtailed hiring.