Total non-farm payroll employment rose by 74,300 in July, up 0.5 per cent from June.
Statistics Canada reports it's the first increase since payroll employment peaked last October.
The proportion of industries experiencing job gains rose for the third straight month in July to 57 per cent, up from 47 per cent in June.
The agency reports 174 of the 305 industries covered by the survey posted gains, up from 144 in June.
This was the largest proportion of industries with a monthly increase in payroll employment since July 2008, when 181 industries were adding jobs.
The service sector accounted for 82 per cent of the growth in payroll employment in July, with the increase coming in elementary and secondary schools.
There was also growth in payroll employment in a number of goods-producing industries - the largest in motor vehicle manufacturing, which rose by 4,000 in July.