Unemployment rate dipped slightly to 6.7% in December
CBC
The Canadian economy added 91,000 jobs in December, and the unemployment rate dipped to 6.7 per cent from the previous month's 6.8 per cent, Statistics Canada said on Friday.
Job growth was more than triple the amount expected by economists, who guessed on average that 25,000 jobs would be added in the final month of 2024.
Most of the jobs added were full-time positions, led by gains in educational services, health care and social assistance, finance, and transportation.
The public sector added 40,000 jobs, while the private sector added 27,000. The number of self-employed people rose for the first time since February, with that group adding 24,000 jobs.
The average hourly wage rose by 3.8 per cent ($1.32, bringing it to $35.77 per hour) compared to the same period last year, but declined on a month-over-month basis.
"Today's report is clearly better than anticipated, although the unemployment rate is still elevated and indicative of slack within the economy," wrote CIBC senior economist Andrew Grantham in a note to clients.
"We still see the need for further interest rate cuts to fully reduce that excess capacity."
More to come.
