Canada shed 41,000 jobs in July, the worst showing in more than three years. Photo by National Post

Canada’s jobs market turned on its head in July, shedding 41,000 positions after gaining 83,000 in June.

Analysts had called for an additional 10,000 jobs last month.

Here’s what economists think about the jobs numbers and what they could mean for the Bank of Canada and interest rates.

‘Unambiguously weak’: BMO

“Our overall score for this (jobs) report was just 22.5 (out of 100), the worst reading in three years,” Douglas Porter, chief economist at BMO Economics, said in a note.

Signs of weakness were scattered throughout the data.

For example, while 10 of 16 sectors shed jobs, most of the losses were full-time, private-sector positions. Total hours worked declined, which bodes

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