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OTTAWA — The economy generated 54,100 net new jobs last month and saw its unemployment rate fall — but the headline improvements overshadowed weaker details: a rush of new part-time, public sector positions and a drop in full-time work.

The overall July increase in jobs pushed the unemployment rate back to its four-decade low of 5.8 per cent, down from six per cent the previous month, Statistics Canada’s latest labour force survey said Friday.

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But a closer look at the numbers revealed that the country gained 82,000 less desirable, part-time positions last month — and it lost 28,000 full-time jobs. The public sector made the biggest contribution to the July increase with 49,600 new jobs, while the private sector added 5,200 positions.

Today’s job report is a classic case of 'nice headlines, shame about the details' Bank of Montreal chief economist Douglas Porter

Average hourly wage growth, which is scrutinized by the Bank of Canada, continued its gradual cool-off last month with a year-over-year reading of 3.2 per cent. In June, it expanded 3.6 per cent and in May the figure was 3.9 per cent, which marked a nine-year high.