Although 90,000 new jobs were created in Canada in April, the majority of which were part-time, the country’s unemployment rate stayed at 6.1 percent, the national statistics office reported on Friday.
The growth in employment was much greater than analysts had predicted, since only 20,000 new jobs were expected after the unemployment rate rose by 0.3 percentage points the previous month. In a research note, Desjardins analyst Royce Mendes stated, “Hiring increased in April, but so did population growth, leaving demand and supply in the labor market roughly unchanged.”
He said that while the public and private sectors both saw increases in employment, the private sector contributed the most.
He said the Bank of Canada is unlikely to be swayed by the jobs numbers when it comes to interest rates. After making dramatic rate hikes in an effort to rein in skyrocketing inflation in recent years, most economists predict that the central bank will begin reducing rates in June.
According to Statistics Canada, employment in the following sectors grew in April: natural resources (+7,700), accommodation and food services (+24,000), health care and social assistance (+17,000), and professional, scientific, and technical services (+26,000.
