Canada Employment Research Brief

Healthy job gains offset by expanding labour force. Canada’s economy added 50,500 jobs in November, led by wholesale and retail as well as construction. While November’s labour gain was the second-largest monthly increase this year, underlying details suggest ongoing weakness in Canada’s economy. The unemployment rate rose by 30 basis points to 6.8 per cent as Canada’s labour force surged by nearly 140,000 job seekers. This jump has mainly been attributed to ongoing population growth, but a slowing economy and a higher cost of living could also be forcing more residents to seek employment. Canada’s jobless rate has now risen by 180 basis points since the pandemic low; excluding the health crisis, the rate sits at its highest level since January 2017. Job gains were also largely concentrated in the public sector, with private sector hiring remaining subdued. Combined, these factors may nudge the central bank to lower its policy rate by 50 basis points at its December meeting.