Canada Adds 43,000 Jobs in March

Canada’s economy created twice as many jobs as expected in March and the unemployment rate dropped for the first time this year, but private-sector and full-time hiring remained weak in a sign businesses remain cautious amid a slack economy.

The report adds to recent data showing the economy is strengthening after a weak path in December and at the start of 2014, but is unlikely to knock the Bank of Canada off its neutral stance on interest rates, analysts said.

Statistics Canada reported on Friday that the job market added 42,900 net new positions in the month, compared with market expectations of 20,000. The jobless rate dipped to 6.9 percent from 7.0 percent.

The six-month moving average for employment growth stood at 9,700 in March, up from 3,400 in February. Overall, the pace of job creation in Canada has been slowing, averaging 8,300 per month in 2013, less than one-third of the 2012 average.

“One month does not a trend make because this came after a long stretch of non-existent hiring,” said Avery Shenfeld, chief economist at CIBC World Markets.

“We still have some catch-up to do then for employment to match up with economic growth over the prior year,” he said.

via Reuters

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.