Employment dropped by 41,000 positions in July, cutting June’s gain in half, Statistics Canada reported. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.9 per cent, as the pool of active workers and job seekers held steady. The percentage of the total working age population with a job fell to 60.7 per cent, the lowest since the summer of 2021. (The Logic)

Talking point: The economy hasn’t succumbed to the trade war. Total hours worked were little changed from June and some 55 per cent of workers aged 25 to 64 told Statistics Canada that they are “very confident” in their prospects. But there’s trouble below the surface. Employers mostly dumped younger workers in July, dropping the youth employment rate to 53.6 per cent, the lowest since November 1998, excluding the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021. That’s an indication of “scarring.” Younger Canadians are losing out on work experience that could keep them—and the economy—from reaching its full potential.