Statistics Canada released the labour market data on Friday. Canada's unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.8% in July, in line with expectations.

The number of employed people fell by 6,600 jobs in July, beating expectations for a rise of 5,000 jobs, after a 6,400 decline in June.

The increase was driven by a rise in self- employed and part-time work. Self-employment rose by 40,500 jobs, while part-time employment climbed by 23,900 jobs.

Full-time employment declined by 17,300 in July.

The labour participation rate was 65.7% in July.

The Bank of Canada monitors closely the labour participation rate.