Canada: A rather good employment report - NBF

According to Matthieu Arseneau, analyst at the National Bank of Canada, today’s Canadian jobs report was “rather good” but warns that the weakness in private employment could be seen as a disappointment. 

Key Quotes:

“Canadian employment jumped 32K in March according to the Labour Force survey, above consensus expectations calling for a 20K increase. With the participation rate unchanged at 65.5%, the unemployment rate was the same at 5.8%. There were job increases in both public (+20K) and selfemployeds (+20K), which dwarfed the 7K decline in the ranks of the private sector.”

“The Canadian employment report was rather good. While the overall job gains and the tilt toward full-timers are welcome developments, the weakness in private employment showing a second decline in three months could be seen as a disappointment. However, the weakness in private employment so far this year is not overly worrisome as it follows a hiring surge in the last quarter of 2017.”

“The labour market remains tight with the unemployment rate being at its record low. This is consistent with the acceleration of average hourly earnings that we’ve seen over the past few months.”