Employment declined by 66,000 positions last month, pushing the unemployment rate to the highest since 2016, excluding the COVID-19 pandemic, Statistics Canada reported. Most of the losses were in the professional services, transportation and manufacturing industries. (The Logic)

Talking point: Total employment has now declined by almost 110,000 positions this summer, wiping out a big increase in June. What’s more, the percentage of working-age Canadians with a job dropped to 60.5 per cent, the lowest since June 2021. The numbers tell the story of an economy on the edge. Hours worked and professional services jobs are higher than a year ago, for example, but both are now frozen by the trade war. Average hourly wages continue to grow faster than the consumer price index, but have slowed to around three per cent. The Bank of Canada could be tempted to cut interest rates later this month to try to keep the economy from tipping over.