Article source: ConstructConnect
Similar to what has been occurring in the United States, labour market conditions in Canada have remained robust despite significant hikes in interest rates orchestrated by the nation’s central bank. April’s nation-wide total jobs count north of the border rose by +41,000 according to the latest Labour Force Survey conducted by Statistics Canada.
The seasonally adjusted ‘headline’ unemployment rate stayed at the 5.0% level where it’s been for five months in a row. The not-seasonally adjusted (NSA) unemployment rate calculated using the same methodology as is adopted in the U.S., known as the R-3 U rate, is perhaps more relevant. In April, R-3 was 4.2%, only a little above the comparable U.S. figure of 3.1%. Graph 1 shows how closely the Canadian and U.S. U rates have been aligned going back at least ten years.
Through the beginning one-third of this year, the average monthly increase in total employment in Canada has been +62,000 jobs. From January to April of last year, the average monthly climb was almost the same, +61,000 jobs.
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