Talking Points:
- Canadian unemployment rate unchanged in April from March at 7.1 percent.
- Labor force participation and employment rate both see a decrease of 0.1 percent
- Sector based employment report shows continued job losses in oil and gas
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Canada’s Unemployment rate for April reported no change from March’s at 7.1 percent, despite estimates that the unemployment rate would increase to 7.2 percent. The labor force participation rate fell by 0.1 percentage points to 65.8 compared to the previous month. The employment rate also decreased by 0.1 percentage points, despite the unemployment rate passing unchanged. Full time employment decreased slightly from March, whereas part time employment increased. The USD/CAD was little changed after the release of the data – cinched between the simultaneous releases of the Canadian and US labor reports.
Employment by sector was little changed as well, although areas such as oil and gas saw a loss of 2.3 percentage points between March and April. Agriculture would suffer a loss of 2.4 percentage points over the surveyed period. The employment rate and sector based jobs have become an important topic for the Bank of Canada as well. Following its most recent overnight rate decision meeting, the BOC mentioned employment as an important factor to consider for growth forecasts and monetary policy since sectors like oil and energy have seen heavy job losses in recent months.