Canada Adds 78,600 Jobs in December Defying Expectations

The Canadian economy added almost 80,000 jobs for the second month in a row in December on a surge in part-time employment, and the jobless rate dipped to a 41-year low of 5.7 per cent, Statistics Canada said on Friday.

The gain of 78,600 positions far exceeded the expectations of analysts, who in a Reuters poll had forecast a modest gain of 1,000 jobs from November. The unemployment rate is the lowest since comparable data became available in January 1976.

Part-time employment jumped by 54,900 jobs while 23,700 full-time positions were added. The economy created 79,500 jobs in November, with 49,900 of those being part-time.

December’s gains were focused on the service sector, where employment rose by 72,600, in part due to increased hiring in finance and educational services. The goods sector added just 6,000 jobs, pulled down by a decline of 3,600 positions in manufacturing.

via BNN

Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.