SmartHomeOwners

OTTAWA: A key engine of Canada's remarkable recovery stalled last month as the economy shed a massive 139,000 full-time jobs and the unemployment rate rose for the first time in almost a year.

The overall news wasn't as bleak as most of those jobs were not altogether lost but instead transferred into part-time work. But the reversal was enough to hike the unemployment rate back to eight per cent.

Statistics Canada said the net job losses for the month was a more modest 9,300.

Economists had expected a weak July, particularly as the economy had been churning out jobs at a far faster clip than appeared justified by the growth rate, adding 227,000 in the previous three months alone.

But the consensus was still for a modest increase, and few expected such a hemorrhaging in the important full-time category.

The biggest loss of full-time workers was in Quebec, which had a setback of 65,800, and Ontario, which lost 30,000 in the category.

The agency offered little explanation for such a reversal from what had been one of the world's most robust employment records since the recession, other than a large 65,000 jobs loss in the education sector had historical precedence during the summer.

Still, it noted that over the past year, Canada's jobs picture remains bright, just not as bright as it had been just a month ago when the agency reported almost all of the jobs shed during the 2008-2009 downturn had been recouped.

The tally now stands at 394,000 jobs created since last July, about 20,000 shy of the recession losses.

Aside from education workers _ which included teachers, assistants, administrators and custodial staff _ there were setbacks in the finance, insurance, **>real<** **>estate<** and leasing services.

Some positive news in the weak report was that the goods producing sector continued to grow, picking up 42,000 workers, including 28,500 in the still depressed factories sector.

July was also a healthy month for student jobs, which experienced a gain of 56,000 positions, the bulk coming in the 20 to 24 years age group.

On a regional basis, net employment, which includes part-time and full-time, rose in British Columbia and Alberta, but fell in Quebec and Ontario.