Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 5/8/2016 (1508 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba's unemployment rate edged up a notch last month as the number of new workers entering the labour force outpaced the number of new jobs that were created, Statistics Canada data shows.

The federal agency said Friday that 500 new workers entered the provincial labour force in July. However, the local economy posted a net gain of only 200 new jobs for the month, after the addition of 3,900 new full-time positions was almost entirely offset by the loss of 3,700 existing part-time jobs.

That boosted the number of unemployed workers in the province to 41,700 from 41,300 in June, which bumped up the provincial unemployment rate to 6.2 per cent from 6.1 per cent a month earlier.

But even with the increase, Manitoba still had the second lowest unemployment rate in the country after British Columbia's 5.6 per cent.

Nationally, the Canadian labour market lost 31,200 net jobs last month as the country suffered its biggest one-month drop in full-time work in nearly five years, Statistics Canada said.

The agency's latest labour force survey says the market shed 71,400 full-time positions in July — a number partly offset by an increase of 40,200 in less-desirable, part-time jobs.

The report says full-time work in Canada hasn't suffered a one-month blow this big since losing 80,300 positions in October 2011.

The changes helped push the national unemployment rate in July up to 6.9 per cent, from 6.8 per cent the previous month.

The survey also says paid employee positions fell by 28,400 last month. Self-employed work, which is often considered more precarious, declined by 2,700.

A consensus of economists had predicted the country to add 10,000 jobs and for the unemployment rate to move up to 6.9 per cent, according to Thomson Reuters.

The survey said the service sectors lost 26,900 jobs last month and goods-producing industries dropped by 4,300 positions.

Ontario suffered the biggest job losses of any province in July, as its labour market decreased by 36,100 net positions. The data said 18,900 of those jobs were full time.

British Columbia added 12,100 net new positions last month, but the province still lost 21,800 full-time jobs.

Overall, the Canadian labour market had 0.4 per cent more jobs than 12 months earlier. Over that same period, however, the full-time work dropped 0.2 per cent while part-time jobs climbed 3.1 per cent.

The youth employment category — covering workers aged 15 to 24 years old — lost 28,400 jobs in July. The change pushed up the jobless rate for youth to 13.3 per cent, from 13 per cent the previous month.

Statistics Canada also released fresh figures Friday that showed the country's merchandise trade deficit with the world grew to a record $3.6 billion in June.

The numbers show that Canadian exports dropped 4.7 per cent in the second quarter to $124 billion, the largest drop since the second quarter of 2009 —during the Great Recession.

As a result, Canada's quarterly trade deficit expanded to a record $10.7 billion in the second quarter, up from $6.4 billion in the first quarter.

— Canadian Press, with files by Murray McNeill