Statistics
Canada announced on Friday that the number of employed people fell by 32,600
m-o-m in March (or -0.2 per cent m-o-m)
after an unrevised rise of 1,100 m-o-m in February. This marked the first monthly decline in Canada’s
employment since July 2024 (-2,800).
Economists had forecast
a gain of 12,000 m-o-m.
Meanwhile,
Canada's unemployment rate increased to 6.7 per cent in March from
an unrevised 6.6 per cent in the previous month, matching economists’ prediction.
According to
the report, full-time employment decreased by 62,000 (or -0.4 per cent m-o-m) in March, while part-time jobs climbed by 29,500
(or +0.8 per cent m-o-m).
Over the month,
the number of public sector employees slipped by
2,800 (or -0.1 per cent m-o-m), while the number of private sector employees declined
by 47,800 (or -0.3 per cent m-o-m). At the
same time, the number of self-employed jumped by 18,000 (or +0.7 per cent m-o-m).
Sector-wise, employment employment reduced
in both goods-producing (-11,700, or -0.3 per cent m-o-m) and
services-producing (-20,900, or -0.1 per cent m-o-m) businesses.
The average hourly wages soared by 3.5
per cent y-o-y (or +CAD1.23) to CAD36.80 in March, sharply decelerating from an unrevised 4.0 per cent y-o-y surge in February.