Canadian Employment Data Beats Expectations; USDCAD Plunges

Talking Points:

- Canadian employment data beats expectations as job growth strenghtens and unemployment falls.

- Unemployment Rate drops more than anticipated as labor market shrinks by more than 400K.

-USD/CAD falls sharply as the CAD strengthens on the news.

The May Canadian employment report came in stronger than expected, as unemlpoyment declined from 7.1% to 6.9%. At 13.8K, the Canadian economy added more jobs than 7 of the last 11 months, maintaining a strong monthly trend. Disparities in the data from the wildfire in Fort McMurray were virtually nonexistent as Fort McMurray’s population only accounts for 2% of the regional data and makes little impact at the national level.

At 6.9%, the Canadian unemployment rate is the lowest since July 2015. The drop was partially driven by a drop in the participation rate which decreased slightly to 65.7 from 65.8, but was mostly drive by strong growth in fulltime employment.

Here are the data that’s lifting the Canadian Dollar this morning:

See the DailyFX economic calendar for Friday, June 10, 2016

- CAD Unemployment Rate (MAY): 6.9% versus 7.2% expected, from 7.1%.

- CAD Net Change in Employment (MAY): +13.8K versus +1.8K expected, from -2.1K.

- CAD Full Time Employment Change (MAY): +60.5K, from -2.4K.

USD/CAD 1-minute Chart: June 10, 2016 intraday

In an immediate response to the data, the Canadian Dollar rose sharply against the USD, falling to 1.266 from 1.27351. By the time this report was written, the USD had recovered to 1.273. With FX volatility edging higher again, it’s the right time to review risk management principles to protect your capital.

--- Written by Omar Habib for DailyFX