Article source: ConstructConnect
In January, the U.S. recorded a big employment increase, +517,000 jobs. In the same month, and with a considerably smaller population base, Canada followed suit, +150,000 jobs.
In relative terms, since the U.S. has a population that is nine times that of Canada’s, the jobs pickup north of the border was even more impressive.
The +150,000-employment gain for Canada was the best monthly increase in nearly a year, dating back to February 2022 (+358,000), when pandemic-devastated sectors were springing back to life.
Canada’s seasonally adjusted (SA) unemployment rate stayed the same in January as in December, 5.0%. The not seasonally adjusted (NSA) unemployment rate calculated using the same methodology as is adopted in the U.S. rose to 4.5% from 3.7%. The 4.5% figure, however, wasn’t far off the comparable U.S. NSA unemployment rate of 3.9%.
Graph 3 shows how closely U.S. and Canadian U rates have been tracking. It also illustrates the minimal negative impacts on labor markets that have occurred so far from the hikes in interest rates on both sides of the border.
