Canada’s economy lost 41,700 jobs in August, data showed on Friday, slowing sharply from unusually strong summer hiring, while the unemployment rate held steady at 6.4 per cent.

The August report provides one of the last relatively clean readings of Canada’s labor market before the effects of U.S. President Donald Trump’s new 50-per-cent tariffs begin to filter through the economy.

The duties cover a relatively small share of Canada’s exports but are concentrated in vulnerable industries including wood products, raising the risk that the recent momentum in the labor market could grind to a crawl.

Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast job gains of around 15,000, as against a huge 75,100 job additions in July. The forecast for the unemployment rate was the same as reported.

Most of the job losses were observed in full-time employment where positions shrank by 35,900, while part-time employment also saw reductions of 5,800 jobs, Statistics Canada said.