After months of solid job growth, the net job losses came as a surprise. Since September of last year, almost 400,000 new employment have been created.

"Hiring appears to have hit a rough patch in May after a long string of outsized gains in job growth," said Desjardins analyst Royce Mendes.

According to Statistics Canada, the majority of job losses were full-time or self-employment.

According to the agency, there were fewer persons engaged in business, building, and other support services (-31,000), as well as professional, scientific, and technical services (-13,000).

However, employment in manufacturing (13,000), "other services" (11,000), and utilities (4,200) grew.

Mendes stated that total hours worked, which declined 0.4 percent in May, "looked ugly," and that "the only decent reading for workers came in wage numbers, which are still running at an above-five percent annual pace."

More economic data is expected to be revealed before the next interest rate announcement in July, according to RBC assistant chief economist Nathan Janzen.

After becoming the first major central bank to stop its previous strong monetary policy to combat inflation in March, the Bank of Canada stepped back this week to raise its main lending rate to 4.75 percent.

This came after multiple consecutive raises beginning in June 2022, when interest rates were at an all-time low.

"We continue to expect data releases to look softer as time goes on," Janzen wrote in a research note, adding that "it will probably take more downside surprises to upend plans for another rate hike in July."