Statistics
Canada reported on Friday that the number of employed people increased by 100
m-o-m in December (or flat m-o-m)
after an unrevised advance of 24,900
m-o-m in the previous month. This marked the smallest gain in
Canada’s employment since a drop in July 2023 (-6,400).
Economists had foreseen
a gain of 13,500 m-o-m.
Meanwhile,
Canada's unemployment rate was
unchanged at 5.8 per cent in December, slightly
below economists’ prediction of 5.9 per cent.
According to
the report, full-time employment declined by
23,500 (or -0.1 per cent m-o-m) in December,
while part-time jobs increased by 23,600 (or +0.6 per cent m-o-m).
Over the month,
the number of public sector employees grew by 6,800 (or +0.2 per cent m-o-m),
while the number of private sector employees rose by 10,900 (or +0.1 per cent m-o-m). Meanwhile, the number of
self-employed fell by 17,600 (or -0.7 per cent m-o-m).
Sector-wise,
employment tumbled in the goods-producing industry (-42,900, or -1.0 per cent
m-o-m) but surged in the services-producing business (+43,100, or +0.3 per cent
m-o-m).
The average hourly wages soared 5.7 per cent
y-o-y (or +CAD1.89) to CAD35.33 in December, accelerating sharply from a 5.0 per cent y-o-y gain
in November.