MNI: Canada +90.9K Dec Jobs Shatter Forecasts
MNI (TORONTO) - Canada's December job creation of 90,900 shattered economist forecasts and was led by full-time positions while wage growth slowed, in line with the central bank's view it has scope to slow the pace of interest rate cuts.
The employment gain compared with an economist consensus for 15,000 net jobs, and unemployment also declined a tenth to 6.7% versus the expectation for no change.
The report showed a reversal where employment rose more than the labor force, after a long period where record immigration lifted the jobless rate. The Bank of Canada last month cut rates by 50bps for a second meeting and said it could moderate the pace with inflation holding near target and faster growth seen using up slack in the economy.
Average hourly wage growth slowed to 3.8% in December from a year ago from a prior 4.1%, the slowest since May 2022, Statistics Canada said Friday.
Hours worked, which economists see as a proxy for GDP, rose 0.5% on the month and 2.1% year-on-year.
Unemployment remains near the highest since 2017 excluding the pandemic.
Macroeconomic risks are taking a backseat to Donald Trump's threats of a 25% tariff on Canada's products. StatsCan said 8.8% of the country's employment is tied to industries where at least 35% of payrolls depend on U.S. exports. (See MNI INTERVIEW: BOC To Slash Rates If Trump Forces Tariffs)