The Canadian economy added 40,000 new jobs in August, double the expected number.

However, the new jobs are less than half of what the population increased during this period.

The figures released on Friday by Statistics Canada showed that the Canadian population added 103,000 people in August. As a result, despite job creation, when comparing the working-age population to the number of employed individuals, this rate has only decreased by 0.1%.

Economists had anticipated the creation of 20,000 jobs in August, and some speculated about job losses, which would mark the second consecutive month of contraction in the labor market.

Job losses were also seen in the manufacturing, agriculture, public administration, finance, insurance, real estate, and educational services sectors, while new jobs were created in construction, transportation, warehousing, wholesale and retail trade, natural resources, and healthcare.

A total of 174,000 new jobs have been created in Canada so far this year, averaging about 25,000 jobs per month.

However, the working-age population has tripled. The number of Canadians aged 15 and older increased by 83,000 people monthly this year.

For his part, Doug Porter, an economist at the Bank of Montreal, said that more than 800,000 people who immigrated to Canada last year are the main reason for the boom in the labor market.

He added that Canada needs to create jobs to match population growth.