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Employment remained unchanged in February following three consecutive months of increases. The employment rate also held steady at 61.1 per cent during the month.
Economists polled by Reuters expect a gain of 20,000 jobs in the month, and for the unemployment rate to have ticked higher to 6.7 per cent.
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Friday’s jobs report is the last major economic release before the Bank of Canada’s next interest rate decision on March 12. Trade uncertainty with the United States is expected to weigh heavily on the central bank.
Statistics Canada reported a rise in employment in industries such as retail and wholesale trade, which added 51,000 jobs during the month, and finance, real estate, insurance and rental leasing, with 16,000 in monthly job gains. Employment fell in professional, scientific and technical services, down 1.6 per cent. Employment in transportation and warehousing also fell by 2.1 per cent in February, and on a year-over-year basis, was down 2.6 per cent.
Population growth for those 15 and older was 47,000 in February, less than half the 97,000 recorded a year ago, marking the slowest pace since April of 2022.
The number of employees in the private sector remained the same in February, after previous increases in December and January. Public sector employment and self-employment also held steady during the month.
Total hours worked fell by 1.3 per cent, the largest monthly decline since April 2022. Statistics Canada attributed the fall to major winter storms that hit central and eastern Canada, where 429,000 employees lost work hours. Wage growth came in at four per cent in February, up from 3.7 per cent in January.
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Employment was up 0.4 per cent among core aged women during the month and employment among core aged men remained little changed, after three consecutive increases reported in the previous months. The labour force participation rate fell in February, decreasing by 0.2 per cent to 65.3 per cent, the first decline in five months.
• Email: jgowling@postmedia.com
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