The pace of job creation is slowing in Canada, hammered by the sharp rise in interest rates, but that is yet to hold back companies from hiring as they face a tight labour market that has pushed the unemployment rate to a record low. Statistics Canada is set to release its latest jobs data on Friday, and a Reuters poll forecast employment in July to rise by a net 20,000 jobs, with the unemployment rate ticking up to 5% from 4.9% after 43,200 jobs were lost in June. Canada’s strong employment market has often been cited as a reason why its economy may avoid a short-lived recession. That is encouraging companies to keep hiring. Air Canada is hosting a virtual job fair to attract talent as it seeks to benefit from the post-pandemic travel rebound. “We’re not seeing any evidence of a slowdown,” Air Canada Chief Executive Mike Rousseau said on Tuesday about travel demand, when asked about a possible economic downturn. Data from financial information company S&P Global on Tuesday showed that the pace of job creation in Canada’s manufacturing sector slowed in July. But the economy has become less reliant on goods production in recent months, with activity shifting to the services sector after provinces lifted restrictions to curb the spread of Covid-19. Job vacancies reached a record high of 136,800, up 5.0% from the peak of the fourth quarter of 2021, StatsCan said in July.<br/>
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Panama-based Copa Holdings, the parent of Copa Airlines, reported higher second-quarter profit and revenue amid a difficult operating environment. The airline said on 3 August that the results for the quarter that ended on 30 June “reflect the impact from the significant increase in jet fuel prices on our operating costs, which was partially offset by higher passenger yields and lower unit costs excluding fuel”.<br/>Adjusted net profit rose to $13.2 million from a loss of $16.2 million in the same quarter in 2021, and a $51 million profit in the same quarter in pre-pandemic 2019. Including special items of $111 million, which include ”an unrealized mark-to-market gain related to the company’s convertible notes and an unrealized mark-to-market loss related to changes in the value of financial investments”, Copa says its Q2 net profit was $124 million. Revenue rose 7.5% to $693 million during the three-month period, up from $304 million in 2021, and also higher than the $645 million it notched during the second quarter in 2019. Expenses during the three-month period in 2022 also rose by almost 16% to $651 million. The airline operated almost 97% of its Q2 2019 capacity, as measured in available seat miles (ASMs) during the period. That’s almost 10 percentage points higher than during the first quarter of 2022, compared to the first quarter of 2019. The airline has said it intends to restore its entire network in 2022 as travel across the region normalises following a more-than two-year Covid-19-driven disruption.<br/>
Airlines across Southeast Asia report the beginnings of a rebound in bookings as a loosening of travel restrictions brings tourists back to the region. At Thai Airways, "we believe this year's peak season from October will see the highest number of passengers in the last two years," said Nond Kalinta, chief commercial officer. Such numbers are welcome news for carriers still waiting for the biggest step toward business as usual -- a recovery in travel to and from China. Thailand began reopening to foreign tourists in mid-2021 and has since removed almost all entry restrictions. Thai Airways' traffic from Europe is already recovering, and average daily passenger numbers roughly sextupled from January to June. Thai Airways has updated its restructuring plans in response to the recovery. It is now seeking 25b baht ($691m) instead of 50b baht in additional funding, after securing more cash through such measures as layoffs. It plans a debt-for-equity swap in 2024 to eliminate its capital deficit of more than 70b baht. Philippine Airlines aims to be operating 80% as many flights as before the pandemic by the end of the year, local media report. It added 1,500 in March, including international flights to Japan, North America and the Middle East, as well as domestic flights between the capital city of Manila and popular vacation spots like Cebu. The carrier reported its first January-June net profit in six years of $71m, buoyed by the Philippines' reopening to international tourists. Story has more details. Asia-Pacific airlines will book a combined net loss of $8.9b for 2022, predicts the IATA. While this would be an improvement from the $15.2b loss of 2021, it remains the heaviest loss by region.<br/>