StatsCan releases corrected labour force survey data

Statistics Canada has released a rare correction of its monthly labour force data, withdrawing their original claim that the Canadian economy had created just 200 jobs in July. In the new report, StatsCan says that 42,000 jobs were added. StatsCan attributes the mistake to a human error that came about as a result of a major redesign of its Labour Force Survey. In a statement, StatsCan said that “certain respondents that should have been classified as employed were counted as not in the labour force resulting in an overestimation of job losses in full-time employment.” The original release misreported the figures for full-time job losses as 60,000 rather than the correct figure of 18,000. The July figures also show that among people aged 25–54 employment rose by 38,000 in July, but the unemployment rate changed very little  as more youths participated in the labour market. Among students aged 20–24, employment was up by 32,000. However, because employment and the number of returning students grew at a similar pace, the rate of employment remained largely unchanged compared to July 2013. StatsCan Daily | Toronto Star