Canada Employment Research Brief

Easing labour market conditions continue. Canada’s economy eked out 7,400 net new jobs in April, which was slightly above the consensus estimate of a 2,500-position increase. Nevertheless, this tepid pace of hiring barely reversed the 33,000 position decline in March and is consistent with recent business surveys calling for a pullback in hiring amid global trade uncertainties Not surprisingly, employment loses were heavily concentrated in trade-exposed sectors. These include manufacturing as well as wholesale and retail, which lost 31,000 and 26,800 jobs, respectively. In contrast, job creation was mainly a result of the 37,100 position increase in public administration hiring, likely due to the recent federal election. Meanwhile, immigration continued to drive population higher. As new residents entered the labour force looking for work, the unemployment rate jumped 20 basis points to 6.9 per cent. Outside of the pandemic, this was the highest reading since January 2017.