Canada Employment Research Brief

Labour market strong across the board. Amid lower interest rates feeding through into the economy at large, Canada added 76,000 jobs in January. Well above the consensus estimate, this represented the third-largest monthly gain in the past year. With population and labour force growth also slowing on account of tighter immigration policies, Canada’s unemployment rate fell 10 basis points to 6.6 per cent – the second-consecutive monthly drop. Employment gains were mainly fuelled by Ontario and British Columbia, as payrolls jumped 39,000 and 23,000 positions, respectively. Additionally, total hours worked rose 0.9 per cent in January and were up 2.2 per cent on a year-over-year basis, suggesting that GDP growth could also register a strong showing in the first quarter. While it was originally believed that lower borrowing costs would boost hiring over the course of 2025, a looming trade war could dampen business investment and hiring intentions, at least in the early parts of the year.