Canada Employment Research Brief

Employment details softer than headline reading suggests. Canada’s economy added 14,500 jobs in October, led by a 20,500 position increase in private sector employment – a closely monitored indicator of labour market health. The unemployment rate also held steady at 6.5 per cent, partially due to slower population growth amid recent changes to Canada’s immigration policies. While ongoing employment gains will reassure the Bank of Canada that some underlying economic resilience remains, October’s reading still indicates some broad-based weakness across Canada’s economy. Not only were job gains well below the nearly 50,000-position increase seen in September, but they were also about half the general consensus. Employment was also propped up by a strong 33,000-position rise among youth ages 16 to 24. In contrast, prime-aged employment – people between 25 to 54 years old – fell by just over 11,000 jobs. This softer-than-expected jobs report consequently lends support to another 50-basis-point rate reduction.