Canada: April Jobs Data Misses the Big Labour Market Events

Net employment rose by 41K in Canada in April, besting the consensus of economists (+20K) by a wide margin. April’s gain was entirely due to more part-time positions (+48K). Services-producing sectors (+35K) dominated the employment gains in April, led by wholesale and retail trade (+24K). The unemployment rate was 5.0% in April, unchanged since December 2022. Total hours worked rose at a monthly pace of 0.2% m/m in April, roughly half the pace observed in March but still solid. Average hourly wages advanced by 5.2% y/y in April, modestly more slowly than the 5.3% pace in March.

Another month, another consensus-beating job gain in the Canadian labour market. However, the April LFS missed the two largest labour market events that occurred in the month. We expect the Bank of Canada to look through the job creation numbers from the April LFS and focus on a variety of indicators for a more complete picture of Canadian labour market developments.