Canadian Employment Increases in January, but Lags Population Growth

On Friday, Statistics Canada (StatCan) reported that employment in Canada increased by 37,000 in January. This follows three consecutive months with little change. The employment rate fell 0.1 percentage points to 61.6%, as population growth—up 0.4%—outpaced employment growth—up only 0.2%.

StatCan notes that employment gains were spread across several industries in the service-producing sector, led by wholesale and retail trade—up 31,000 positions, or 1.1%—as well as finance, insurance, rental, and leasing with a combined 28,000 additional positions, or 2.1%. Those increases were offset by declines in other industries, led by a loss of 30,000 positions, or 2.7%, in the accommodations and food service sector.

The unemployment rate fell 0.1 percentage points to 5.7% in January. This was the first decline in the unemployment rate since December 2022. The unemployment rate had been on an upward trend through most of 2023, rising from 5.1% in April to 5.8% in December.